Raging Storm
by buildasn0wman
Summary: Anna, growing tired of Kristoff's annoying antics, seeks out a new source of entertainment, and discovers feelings and secrets that may have been best kept hidden. Elsanna, F/F, rated M for language and sexual content. Starts off around five months after the end of Frozen.
1. Swirling Storm Inside

**A/N**: okay so I finally admit I ship Elsanna, which was a very confusing and frustrating series of emotions to go through, but I decided to jump in and join the fun and write my own fanfic. Created a new account because I don't want this tied to my original FF account – this is a giant guilty pleasure ship. :o

Hate reviews about the ship will be deleted. But non-ship related reviews are highly encouraged! 8)

So yeah incest and smut warning etc., etc., you know the deal.

* * *

"You thick-skulled—" Anna's accusation trailed off into an incomprehensible groan as her hands grasped strands of red hair on the back of her head. Assessing the damage of the sleigh, which splintered out in varying directions, the freshly painted lacquer torn– oh, he _knew _how hard it was for her to find someone to paint it that well – the paint it sealed tarnished with dirt and debris. The tree the vehicle collided with stood proudly unscathed, wearing the sleigh that tangled around it like a fragmented shawl.

For Anna, the past few months were growing progressively unbearable. Although the days would hold an occasional gleam of hope if Kristoff was _extra super _romantic (wiped his face before kissing her after a messy sandwich, or made Sven sleep outside 'just this once'), Kristoff was driving her rather crazy. A preferable choice over Hans, in every sense of the word, but not the ideal suitor she fantasized about in the nights she spent alone, which was a large majority of her childhood and adolescence. Instead, she found herself gritting her teeth through his mishaps with Sven, which seemed to be multiplying in number and severity.

But _this—_the sleigh she had specially commissioned for him from the most skilled artisan in all of Arendelle, in complete ruin and demise in front of them—was not something she could let slide.

"Uh oh, buddy, I think we're in _real big _trouble this time," Kristoff said, pursing his lips to the side. Sven nodded in agreement, looking up at Anna with fear in his large eyes. The tone of her boyfriend's voice was condescending and sarcastic, but she could never tell when he was talking to that reindeer.

How easily it would be to chew him out for having such a reckless abandon, but no matter how angry and fed up Anna felt, it just wasn't something she felt capable of doing. Instead, she maintained a calm composure, feeling the throb of her heart regain steadiness as she completed a few mediated breaths in front of the guilty duo.

"No, Anna, keep calm," she told herself, averting her gaze from Kristoff and instead fixating on the gleaming powder below her, littered with small increments of wood. "Just breathe, compose, repose..."

"I'm...can I talk?...I'm going to talk anyway, I'm really sorry, Anna. It was an accident, I mean obviously, since I wouldn't do this on purpose, but I got distracted, you see, or Sven did, it's hard to tell who it was, really, but—"

"Sssh," Anna huffed, holding a stiff finger up to the nippy air. "I don't want to hear it."

Kristoff stared at her raised finger, his eyes then darting to the frustrated princess, whose gaze still fixated on the snow. "Are you looking at something in particular, or?"

"Kristoff," Anna said, a fake smile fabricating on her face as she met his eyes. Her shoulders perked up, her spine cracking just a little as she wasn't used to holding such a tall, proud stance. "Just tell me exactly what happened so I don't have to listen to your whiny explanations all day."

"Whiny?" Kristoff's brow knitted into a slight glare. "Well, I—uh, I mean, Sven, spotted what appeared to be an injured reindeer lying on the snow over there," he started, gesturing to an empty clearing in the forest with his stubby thumb. "We decided, uh, to stop and help it out. Only we didn't see this tree..."

"You mean this giant thing?" she asked, nodding her head in the direction of the colossal foliage that jutted out in front of them.

"Look, it wasn't like we weren't looking where we were going. Sven must've lost his footing."

Sven snarled and scowled up at Kristoff, stomping a hoof in protest as snow kicked up behind him.

"Anyway, turned out it was just sleeping. Sleeping in a pretty odd way, but it was probably just a few needles short of a haystack. You know, probably one of Sven's cousins."

Sven snorted.

Anna sighed and surveyed the sleigh one last time. The damage seemed horrific, but what was most important, she figured, was that the clumsy pair somehow managed to walk away from the incident with minimal injury, although a small pool of blood did materialize on the back of Kristoff's hand.

"Well, I guess as long as you're okay, I'm okay," she professed. "But oh—you're bleeding."

"It's nothing," Kristoff said, hiding his hand behind his back. "It's just a small flesh wound."

Perhaps she did overreact, since the sleigh was quite inexpensive due to her royal heritage, and accidents do happen, but a thought nagged her that the smaller things were starting to annoy her, too. The little quirks that she used to find endearing now frustrated her. His half smile in times of trouble became mocking instead of charming, his constant conversations with his reindeer companion were now growing steadily more odd and in-depth. Then again, one of her best friends _is_ a snowman.

"I guess I'll put in a new order for a new sled, mister _professional ice deliverer,_" she said in a tease, "but for now, I want you to make it up for me." She was going to have her fun.

"M-make it up to you?" Kristoff asked, with apprehension in his inflection.

"Yes."

"Dare I ask how?"

"No," Anna smiled.

Kristoff grew visually nervous, Sven's mind in the gutter as a mischievous smirk crept on the caribou's face.

"Then how am I—"

"You'll do as you're told," Anna announced. In defiance of her reputation as being the laid-back sister, she enjoyed taking advantage of her royal status from time to time. "Right now, I want you to clean up the wreck. Sven can help."

"What? Don't you have a team of servants or something at your disposal to clean this up for us?"

"Probably," Anna said, still retaining her beaming smile.

Kristoff scoffed, but not without a giggle. Sven rolled his eyes and kicked up some of the rubble with his hoof into a collective pile, taking more initiative than his more capable human friend.

"Oh, okay, _princess. _I'll clean this up." He bent over to begin assembling the fractured pieces of wood, his butt protruding out in Anna's direction in a bold display of some weird seduction tactic. "I know how much you love watch—hey, what are you doing?"

Anna had twirled around and headed back in the direction of the kingdom, her smile now completely genuine. "I'll see you at dinner, if you're done by then," she said, calling over the whistling winds that glazed over the forest. "Sven can be relieved at eight if he's not done yet."

Anna could hear the boastful snort from Sven, followed by a sharp "shut up!"

* * *

"Is this your first drink of alcohol?" asked Erik, one of the castle's royal servants as he refreshed Anna's fizzing, red beverage with a generous helping. Wisps of his snow-white mustache danced in the cold wind that seeped through one of the massive windows behind them.

The dining hall was adorned with intricate crystal fractals seeping up the pillars of the looming walls, a frozen chandelier serving as the pièce de résistance in the center of the ceiling, casting beams of assorted light patterns around the room. Elsa would harness her powers on rare occasion to decorate the desolate rooms within the castle, and although she did a rather fine job, the coldness that accompanied the decorations was too much for Anna at times. If anything, this room seemed so highly unnecessary, as the table she and her queen sister dined on stretched across the room that was so long and narrow, she could barely make out the amount of food that Elsa chose to put on her plate from the few serving plates the table boasted in its center, too far away for Anna to consider replenishing her plate if she were to finish her meal.

"No," she insisted, her answer distorted by the liquid that graced her lips as she took a gulp. That was, of course, a lie. She was feeling rather giddy this evening, having commanded Kristoff to clean up after himself and putting her foot down for once. She was more daring than usual tonight, and figured another risk would be harmless. Alcohol was more bitter than she expected, but the woozy feeling that succeeded it made up for the foul taste. In fact, she noticed, the more she consumed, the more she enjoyed the drink. Her lips pursed over the edge of the goblet, drops of the drink spilling onto her light-colored nightgown as more liquid coated her throat and lightly strung her tongue.

"Anna, are you sure you're okay drinking that?" Elsa asked from the opposite side of the table, her voice in almost a yell.

"Mmm, mm, yeah I'm fine," Anna insisted as she drank, shaking her hand as if shooing off Elsa's concern.

"So where's Kristoff?" Elsa called out, her food barely touched.

"He's cleaning."

"Cleaning?"

"What? God, I can barely hear you from back here. Why can't we just eat in the common room next to the fire or something?"

Elsa rolled her eyes –or at least, Anna thought she did – and with a pronounced grace, rose from her seat, strolling over to the closest chair to Anna, taking around ten seconds to do so. "Why is Kristoff cleaning, Anna? And what is he cleaning?"

"He wrecked his sleigh," Anna shrugged, shoveling a forkful of salmon into her mouth.

"What? Kristoff—wait, is he okay?"

"He's fine," Anna said. "I mean, he got a little scrape, but I just told him to clean up."

"You?" Elsa glanced to the side, flashing an amused smile. "You demanded him to clean up?"

"Yup." _Why is that so surprising? And why is this salmon so damn tasty?_

"I never thought you'd be so, oh, what's the word I'm looking for..."

"Domineering?" Anna suggested, noticing her goblet was once again near depletion.

"Well, I suppose if you wanna be so crass, yes. Domineering."

Anna laughed, causing Elsa to lean back in surprise. "He can handle it. Plus, it'd be nice to have a night without him for once. I can't stand watching him eat, he's so sloppy," she said, despite the area around her plate being muddled with food and wine spills. "And that damned reindeer of him smells _soo _bad. At least, I think it's his reindeer. Oh, and don't even get me started on how _gassy _he is."

"Anna, what's gotten into you? I thought you loved Kristoff?" Elsa put a hand over Anna's, who withdrew it quickly.

"Hey now," Anna jeered, holding her own hand up close to her chest. "Just because I'm making him clean up after his mistakes doesn't mean I don't love him."

"I've never heard you complain about him. I truly hope this just the alcohol talking, and that you haven't been harboring these, these criticisms for so long."

"Why do you care so much?" Anna said, sneering at her sister. "It's not like you know what love even is."

Erik softly gasped from his post, putting his hand up to his dry, cracked mouth while his eyes focused on Anna. Erik had never reacted to their conversations before.

_Oh, no. I should not have said that. _Elsa's face distorted into an pronouncement of pure shock over Anna's words.

"You little..." Elsa grunted and jolted up from the chair, the furniture crashing to the wooden floor as the sound of the impact echoed in the hollow room.

As the queen stormed towards the exit doors, she gyrated around to gift Anna a glare she never wanted to see in her life. "If I don't know what love is, then why am I letting you stay in my castle?"

_Her _castle? As Elsa slammed the doors shut, Anna's gut churned with guilt and rage. She peered over at Erik, who was clearly avoiding all eye contact, wishing he wasn't in the room. After a few moments of collection, the familiar feeling of grief settled over her as she burst into a long wail, cradling her face while tears streamed out the side of her eyes. _Good going, idiot. _

"P-princess, should I leave you be?" Erik said, inching away from the pillar he was stationed at.

"Go. Just go."

Erik hurried out of the room, softly closing the doors behind him as he left the forlorn princess.

After a few minutes of inconsistent sobbing and finishing off the last few drops of alcohol that accumulated at the bottom of her cup, the entrance doors busted open, presenting a frosted-tipped Kristoff. Anna had not drank enough alcohol for her to be able to tolerate his sight right now, her sadness mixing with rage as soon as she was acquainted with his presence.

"Whoo, wow it's cold out," Kristoff said, shivering. Snow caked his heavy winter clothes, icicles embellishing his eyelashes. "It's winter again, all right. But the sled is taken care of, finally." He strolled into the dining hall, tracking boot-shaped snow prints along the wooden floor. His skin was paler than normal, but his nose and cheeks were as pink as Anna's cape, which was draped somewhere on the floor of her room. "What's for dinner tonight, anyway?" A pause accompanied the two, empty of any response from Anna.

"Anna? Anna, what's wrong?" Kristoff rushed over to the crying woman, momentarily losing his footing on the smooth floor and gliding across for a few seconds before reclaiming his balance. He grabbed Anna's hand between his uncomfortably cold, calloused fingers, kneeling in front of her.

"Why do you have to screw up everything?" Anna growled between her sobs, snapping her hand away from the near-frozen suitor.

"What? Anna, please—" he begged, attempting to take her hand again.

"Just leave me alone," Anna said, standing up and bolting out the exit without looking back at the concerned blond at his knees.

She rushed herself out of the vicinity, the sound of her feet quickly hitting the ground resonating throughout the entire castle. Traveling up the spiraling staircase that burdened her sense of equilibrium, she arrived at the top floor, Elsa's door shut close. She burst into her unlit room, locking the door behind her and sliding down the wall in defeat. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was she was crying about, whether or not she was overly guilty, distraught with insult, or just fed up. But she knew one thing. She knew what love was, and it wasn't Kistoff.


	2. The First Time in Forever

**A/N:** Ohmygod, I'm extremely overwhelmed with the amount of faves/follows I've had since I posted this fic! You guys are truly amazing! And thanks for the nice reviews! Sorry about the wait, I have strep throat on top of having a full time job. :( I'm trying my best to write, though.

Oh, and as always, reviews are highly encouraged!

* * *

"Elsa?"

Anna's hand shivered as she knocked on the doors of her sister's room.

"Elsa, I'm sorry."

No answer, a stinging allusion to her childhood.

"Elsa, just—let me in. You can't shut me out like this again." Her eyes had dried from the constant sobbing she endured just a few minutes ago, but the lack of response from Elsa welled them up again.

She was used to this, the neglect, but her heart was still tender and easily bruised. Being frozen didn't harden it, it only made it more sensitive and afraid of the cold, the very cold Elsa was proficient at dealing emotionally and physically. "Elsa," she squeaked, increasing the strength of her knock, knuckles starting to redden.

Accepting that her sister wouldn't confront her, Anna settled herself down, back against the doors that provided a barrier against her and Elsa for a large block of her past. "Please, Elsa," she wept, hopeless.

The halls were dimly lit, scarce a lantern that wasn't extinguished, the only real source of light streaming from Elsa's door, and combined with the dreary winter night that displayed through the windows the arrayed the corridor, Anna was consumed by black. So when her hands traced over the smoothness of the floor in a blind fidget, she gasped when she her fingers touched cold outside the edge of the door that sheltered Elsa. Elsa's room was ice again.

"Elsa," she choked. Anna scampered up to her feet, studying the door as closely as the limited illumination would let her. Her fingers sketched around the edges of the door, which were caked with frost.

Rather than giving her sister a verbal invitation to open her chambers, Anna turned the doorknob, bashing the entire weight of her small frame against the door to open it as the ice had almost completely frozen it shut. After a few labored thrusts, the door swung open.

The room was laced with snow and ice motifs, snowflakes drizzling down from seemingly nowhere and coating every object with a thin blanket of powder. The floor, appearing as it were dusted with sugar, boasted streaks of ice in a symmetrical pattern spiraling out from the center, where Elsa's bed stood. On that very bed, sobbing with her head between her folded arms and her legs dangling off the edge, lay Elsa. An intense moment passed, Anna's conscious finally registering just how horrible Elsa's emotional status had to be for her powers to be so uncontrollable, when Elsa wiped her face and gazed up at Anna with a pair of sad, dampened, red eyes. Anna's mouth, agape, struggled to speak.

"I—I mean—Elsa, when..."

"Just go away," Elsa cried, burying her face into one of her snow crusted pillows. "I don't even know what you want from me anymore."

Anna slowly shut the door behind her without turning away from Elsa, and sauntered over to her sister's bed, careful as to not slip on the ice. Elsa showed no resistance to Anna approaching her, but instead crawled up to a sitting position, as if to make room for Anna to sit next to her.

"I really should have kept my mouth shut," Anna admitted, easing herself onto the bed next to Elsa. "I'm a freakin' idiot."

Elsa calmed down enough to speak with cohesion. "You really don't know what it's like," she sniffed, "to have to shut yourself off from everyone you've ever known, because you were different. And to hear my own sister – the only person I have ever loved – to tell me that I don't even know what love is...I mean, God, Anna."

"Look, I said I was sorry. It was a stupid thing to say."

"Why do you even stay here? I mean, you and Kristoff could have run off and gotten your own place by now, I don't understand why you want to stick around here."

"You're asking me why I don't want to live in a castle?" Anna asked in disbelief.

"I'm asking why you want to live in a castle with your sister who's clearly losing control of her own powers, and, according to your accusation, doesn't love you."

"Because I love you," Anna said, putting an arm around her sister's neck, who was cold to the very touch. "And I know you love me, despite what I said, because sometimes I say really stupid things, because I can be really stupid sometimes."

Elsa cracked a smile, finally. Anna swore she could see the ice starting to thaw around the room.

"I don't understand, though. I thought you finally got your ice power...thing under control."

"I did," Elsa breathed, wiping a final tear from her puffed cheek. "But lately it's been taking over. I didn't want you to see this."

"I thought loved thawed it. If you loved me—"

"No, no," Elsa interjected, cutting her sister off before she would say anything more damaging. "It's not that. Love can thaw it, but other things can bring it out."

"Like...?"

Elsa sighed and stared off into nothing. "I don't really know how to say it without seeming insane and insecure."

"Just say it, I swear I won't think any less of you," Anna assured.

Elsa nodded and grasped her own hands in her lap, taking a moment to work up the courage to speak. "I'm jealous."

"J-jealous?"

"I'm jealous of you and Kristoff. Oh, wow, it feels good to finally say that." Elsa held her head up with a smirk on her fair-skinned face.

"Jealous? Like...wait, what? Elsa—" Anna's mind set into panic. Jealous? Was Elsa—was Elsa in love with Kristoff? Or worse, was Elsa in love with—no, no. That was _crazy. _They're _sisters. _How could that thought even pop into Anna's brain? Better yet, why did that thought _excite _Anna?

"I just wish I had someone like that, like what you two have," Elsa said, turning to face her sister. "That's why it made me so upset to hear you complain about him, as if you take him for granted."

"Oh."

Disappointment settled into Anna's chest. The fact that she even felt disappointed disturbed her. She always found Elsa to be quite beautiful, even finding herself envying Elsa's grace and attractiveness, despite them almost never crossing paths for the majority of their young lives. But not like _that, _right? They're related. They're sisters. Anna's never even looked at another girl like that. Did Elsa always smell that good? _Oh no._

"But, then again, I mean if you're really having problems with him, I'm sorry for—"

"Yeah, no, everything's fine. You're right," Anna said, forcing herself to act extra bubbly. "I shouldn't complain about him."

"Oh. Well, that's good...I think."

"In fact, I'm just gonna leave now and pretend that we never had this conversation," Anna stated, clambering up from the bed. The reduced friction on the floor took its toll as her legs sprawled out upon, Anna grabbing onto the bed for support. "Oh, shit."

"Anna," Elsa gasped, briefly holding a petite hand up to her mouth. "Are you all right?" She extended a hand out for Anna to grab onto, who was fighting to find a solid grip on the bed side.

Noticing Elsa was offering her hand, Anna managed to stand up with a clumsy haste. "I'm fine, I'm fine." She nervously laughed while she made her way to the door.

"What's going on? Did I say something wrong?" Elsa asked with concern, rising to her feet.

"Nope! Everything's fine, like I said," Anna said with a fake giggle, "I'll just be leaving you now. Love you, sis!"

Anna shut the door behind her, allowing herself a minute to analyze just exactly what happened in there. Those feelings were _not _there before. Right? She was just confused, that's all. There is no way she could ever, ever feel anything more than sisterly love for Elsa...

"There you are," a familiar male voice called out from the opposite side of the corridor. Anna looked over at the source of the voice and saw Kristoff, the silhouette of his figure lit up by the lantern he was holding that cast shadows all around the side of the hallway he occupied.

"Uh, hey Kristoff," Anna greeted, although not without hesitancy.

"Look, I don't know what I did, or what's wrong, if it's about the sled, I'm so sorry, that was stupid, you have every right to be upset," Kristoff said, approaching Anna as she moved away from Elsa's room. "But I'm here for you, and I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you." He grasped her hand and held it between his own.

"Oh, well, I, uh, thanks." Anna ended her short ramble with a forced smile.

"Soo...if there was anything else you could think of, to maybe let me do to make it up to you," he said with a mischievous grin.

"Yes! Uh, I want you to, well, clean up. Yeah, clean up the dining table."

"What? That's not what I had in mind...and don't your servants do—you know what, I already know the answer to that," he said. "Anything for you, I guess."

"Thanks," Anna said with false enthusiasm.

"But, you know, if you think of anything more, well, exciting—"

"Table first," she demanded.

"Right."

* * *

The next week passed at a glacier rate, Anna purposely avoiding all contact with both Kristoff and Elsa in a last-resort effort to retain her sanity. If anything, she shut herself out from everyone in the kingdom, which was a hard task to do when holding such royalty. Palace workers approached her day in and day out, offering favors and inquiring if she was feeling alright, some even going so far as to suggest she may have been ill, proposing medicine and remedies, which differed from person to person. Despite the whispered rumors that infected Arendelle like a bad cold, only Anna knew the truth; she couldn't stand to see her sister after the unholy thoughts that suffered through her head that night. In the days where she didn't see Elsa, she felt rather confident that those perversions were just fleeting, and everything was all right, but then she'd get a glimpse of Elsa – perhaps at night while fetching a glass of water, or when she looked up from the dinner table on the nights that Elsa chose to join her, and the lust flooded her head again, gaining intensity at each glance and lingered look, like a snowball barreling down a mountain. Each time Elsa spoke, Anna's chest tightened with fear and adoration at how soothing and irresistible it was to her ears. She would not, however, confess to herself that these feelings were anything less than natural. It was sisterly love, but on a different level than most people felt, she told herself. It was perfectly and completely normally to adore your sibling.

Her attraction towards Kristoff, however, was plummeting. She sent him on meaningless assignments to get rid of him for the bulk of the time, ranging from small tasks such as help tending the castle's vegetables, to repairing the watch towers that were damaged in the sudden ice age Elsa brought on in the summer. She would promise him that she would reward him eventually, without ever directly saying it would be anything sexual, which motivated him to complete the mindless projects, even though she never delivered. If anything, she was upset that he wasn't fed up and called it off with her. She dreaded the notion that eventually, if he didn't start resisting, she'd have to end it with him herself.

* * *

"Okay, let's see," Kristoff sighed, holding out a crumpled piece of paper that was nestled in his bulky coat pocket. "Shed is repaired, animals are fed, cakes are in the oven..." His flour-stained hand shoved the note back into his coat, tearing it. "I think I'm done for the day."

"A-are you sure?" Anna said, backing towards the wall. She glanced around the dim common room, searching for anything else she could have him tend to. There had to be something she could come up with to get him out of her presence.

"You know, I really like this side of you," Kristoff admitted, raising an eyebrow. "I think it's pretty hot that you're dominating me like this." He released himself from his huge coat, tossing it over to one of the chairs that faced the crackling fire.

Gross. "Well, you know, I uh, enjoy seeing you being a good, uh," Anna looked all around, as if the word she was looking for was hidden somewhere in the corners of the room.

"A good boy, huh?" Kristoff leered. "I think a good boy deserves a reward." His eyes glistened from the light of the fire bouncing off his face.

Anna backed into the wall, unable to go anywhere. The last thing she wanted right now was any sort of physical intimacy with Kristoff. "Well, yeah, I mean that's why I made you make those cakes."

"Not quite what I had in mind," Kristoff laughed, gaining on Anna. Once he was mere inches from her, he planted heavy kisses on her pale neck, grasping her waist and pulling her into his large physique in one quick motion.

"Oh, I-I see," Anna stammered, subtly pulling her neck away from the amorous man.

Kristoff's hand wandered up to Anna's head as she craned it back, drawing his fingers around the braids in her hair. Anna closed her eyes, drifting off into thought while she threw her head back, revealing more skin for him to probe with his mouth. She never realized how much she hated the stubble of his chin and dryness of his cracked lips. She wished it were smoother, more plush, more feminine. She opened her eyes, staring down at his blond hair that descended as he cruised down her neck onto her chest, which was half exposed from her low-cut nightgown.

"I love the color of your hair," she quietly gasped as Kristoff started to purse his lips on her cleavage, leaving a wet trail down her sternum.

"Mm, what's that?" Kristoff asked without stopping.

"Nothing." _Why did I even say that?_

She shut her eyes once again, letting her mind drift into a dark crevice it had never been to before, to latch onto a fantasy that would allow her to not feel completely repulsed. Her thoughts shook as she felt a large hand run up the sides of her thighs, teasing the area around it with awkward strokes. At this point, Kristoff was almost completely on his knees, lifting up her nightgown to treat her abdomen with kisses while his finger slipped up to the hem of her panties.

Her mind strayed further away from reality, mentally erasing Kristoff from the picture. The kisses he teased her pelvis with grew enjoyable, her area grew wet, and her hands dug into his blond hair in an attempt to keep herself grounded. Breaths growing laborious, her thighs shifted around Kristoff's hands to hide how soaked she was. Finally, overwhelmed by the pure pleasure her thoughts and new fantasy had brought her, she released a moan that was clawing at her mouth for moments now.

"Ohh,_ Elsa!_"


	3. Open Door

**AN:** fastest updater in the east apparently, totally lied about the being slow thing because I took a sick day off work yesterday and sat home writing because I'm a loser and I love you guys B)

oh and sorry for any typos and stuff I'm about to go out with some friends and didn't have time to proof-read ;w; I will ASAP! ahh

* * *

_ Oops._

Anna's entire being went cold. Not the sort of cold she felt around Elsa, but the sort of cold that froze her muscles and halted her thoughts. The cold that made her soul want to slip out of her body and never have to take up any tangible space ever again. The cold that froze time and held the two captive in confusion and disbelief.

Kristoff didn't vocalize any response for a while. He froze, too, snapping his head away from Anna's body, but his hand still held her thighs firmly with his thumb nestled into the center of her panties, appearing to be too confused and in shock to move it away from her. It could have been seconds, it could have been minutes, it very well may have been a few hours before either of them dared to look at each other. Anna's chest was too constricted with fear to even allow enough air to come through her lungs to speak.

"Did..." Kristoff started to speak, after a long pause, but went silent again.

Anna wondered in a panic whether or not she should attempt to speak, or let the situation play out for itself. How could she ever try to cover up yelling her own sister's name as her boyfriend felt her up? Has this ever even happened to anyone else? Why did she even yell Elsa's name? Breaths came out of her, but without any words in them. _Anything. Just say anything. _

"I was—I was calling Elsa, because I, uh," Anna said, unable to come up with a believable conclusion to that sentence. _Dammit_, _think, Anna._

_ "_You called out her name?" Kristoff looked up at the anxiety-stricken redhead.

"I was calling for her," she said, in a weak attempt of defense.

Kristoff scurried a few inches away from Anna, before standing up to face her. "Why, why on earth would you ever, ever call her name out while I was about to—"

"Are you accusing me," Anna scolded, "of...of moaning my own sister's name? What kind of sick man are you?" Anna desperately hoped the tactic switch would work.

"Sure as hell sounded like that, now, didn't it?"

"What is wrong with you?" Anna flattened her nightgown out, straightening herself up before pointing an accusing finger at Kristoff. "You think I'm some sort of pervert? Like you?"

"Hey, there's no reason to insult me," Kristoff said, holding his hands up. "I'm not the one who yelled my sibling's name."

"Get out," Anna growled, holding an unsteady hand at the door. She hoped Kristoff wouldn't see the great concern buried beneath her eyes. "And take those perverted, lesbian incest fantasies with you."

"Trust me, I have no intention of staying," Kristoff said with a scowl. "You need help." He headed off towards the doors, making sure to present Anna with one last judgmental look before disappearing from sight.

"Oh, oh, fuck, Anna," Anna howled to her lonesome once she confirmed Kristoff was gone. "Why? Why did you yell her name?" She threw Kristoff's coat, with a hint of anger in her toss, off the chair and sat in the seat, burying her face in her hands. All she could hear anymore was the rapid beating of her heart, even drowning out the loud snaps of the fireplace.

She looked up at the ceiling, which she struggled to make out, her head entirely too dizzy to concentrate on anything other than what just happened. _Maybe if I say it out loud, it'll make me feel better. _Anna took a deep breath, which hurt due to the tightness of the muscles in her chest, and gave herself a moment before finally speaking the truth she knew she had to face eventually.

"I have...I have a crush on my sister. My own sister." _Nope, it sounded weirder out loud._

Her eyes darted around the room to assure that no one was around to hear her say that. She was alone. She was alone, in multiple ways—how many people grow infatuated with their own sibling? There was absolutely no one she could confide in about these harmful, confusing feelings that were consuming her like an eternal darkness she could not escape. And now, she had to face the risk that Kristoff would inform all of Arendelle of the scandal that took place moments ago. Oh, how would they react? Exile? Ostracization? Neither of those could compare to the way Elsa would react to learn that her younger sister lusted after her.

Yet, it was out. There was no chance Kristoff couldn't see through her blatant transparent lies she tried to feed him. She wasn't calling out for Elsa, she was moaning her name, like a demon pulling at her vocal cords that demanded release, a demon that had been burrowed in the bottom of her stomach for a long time. And even though she only began to consciously acknowledge these feelings for the past week, they surfaced long ago, during Elsa's coronation, when the dress she wore hugged her in all the right places, and her graceful walk weakened Anna's knees. How foolish it was for Anna to mistake actual desire and lust for sibling admiration.

But she had nothing to lose anymore. She could do anything she wanted to do right now, and nothing would hurt her reputation more than what just happened, as if she had a free pass for one more act of selfish recklessness, and she knew _exactly _what she was going to do with it. She rose up from the chair, determined to take advantage of the incident as she strutted out of the common room with confidence.

* * *

"Okay, breathe, compose, repose," she said to herself, inhaling deep breaths. A coping technique and phrase her parents taught her back when she grew anxious as a child, which happened to her quite often, due to her isolation and lack of stimulation. It was one of the only methods that got her through the days that seemed too heavy to endure.

She stood in front of Elsa's door—again, and studied the architecture of it. Ice still intertwined the wood of the door's trim. _If I caused this, I will fix it._ She stood proud, clearing her throat in case anything would choke up her words and cause her to fumble, and positioned her fist right in front of her body, ready to knock and face confrontation with Elsa.

"Anna?" Elsa said from beside her in a soft whisper.

Body arrested with startle from Elsa's voice, Anna gasped. "O-oh, you're, you're not in your room." Once Anna caught sight of Elsa, her legs buckled and her mouth went dry. "I uh, I expected you to be in your room. Because that's where you usually are. And you're hot. I mean not. Not! You're not in your room. And it's still icy." _Stop talking._

"Anna, where have you been? Have you been avoiding me?"

"What? Me? No," Anna said, her face flushing red. Realizing her hand was still up, she leveled it down to her side and flashed her sister a timid smile. "I've just been busy."

"Busy? What on earth could you be busy with?"

"Oh, oh yeah, super busy. You know, political things. Lots of political things."

"Well," Elsa said, "I'm sure I would have heard about these political 'things', you know, with being the _queen _and all."

"No, no, just me. Anyway, uh, I just wanted to talk, and say hi," Anna confided, preventing any more suspicion that was already surely blossoming.

"In that case, uh, hi," Elsa greeted, looking at Anna as if she were sprouting reindeer antlers.

"So wait, did Kristoff say anything to you recently?" Anna asked.

"I haven't seen him in days."

Relief fell over Anna. It was a start. "Can, can we talk? Somewhere a bit more private?" she asked, her legs starting to quiver.

"I'd love to, trust me, but I have a meeting with the new ambassador of Weselton in an hour. I need to freshen up and make myself look at least somewhat decent," Elsa explained, motioning Anna out of the way so she could enter her room.

_Decent? _She already looked beautiful enough to turn all of the heads in an entirely crowded ballroom. "It's real fast, I swear." Anna held herself up against Elsa's door to keep her from going inside.

"What is it, Anna?"

"So...no to the whole 'private' part?"

"Anna, if you don't tell me now, whatever it is you're trying to say to me, you can tell Erik, I'm sure he'd relay—"

"No, it's fine. I'll tell you now."

She could ease herself into this, smoothly, like the the rugged men in the books she read as a teenager, and ask Elsa on a night out of sorts and approach the situation from there. She could blurt it out, like a romantic confession, about how the past week she stayed up at night, picturing her own sister attached to her lips and her hips. Or, the plan that seemed most convenient and morally right at the time, she could turn around and scamper off without saying a word. "You see..."

"Anna, I don't have time for this, I'm sorry." Elsa lightly pushed her princess sister out of her path, gripping the doorknob to her room in her delicate hands.

Anna grabbed her sister's head and pulled her into swift contact, meshing their lips together briefly in a kiss. Her eyes fluttered shut, too intensely focused and nervous to see her sister's reaction while her face lingered on the queen's for a few seconds. She tasted like strawberries, smooth and sweet, with a hint of weird familiarity. Her heart jolted with apprehension as she pushed Elsa's head away after parting from the intruding kiss she planted on her, eyes wide open as they focused on the shocked expression plastered on Elsa's face, telling her that her surprise did not work out as planned. Maybe Anna could have passed it off as a friendly sister kiss, but no, she lingered. _She lingered. _Her gut feeling was wrong earlier. She had everything to lose, and she just lost it all, evident in the fear in Elsa's eyes.

"Thanks for listening," Anna blurted as she turned away to bolt off into a random direction—any direction that would lead to an exit from this hallway that she swore was starting to cave in.

"Anna! What the _hell!" _Elsa shouted, her words bouncing off the high ceilings off the corridor.

Once she turned a corner and left Elsa's sight, Anna rushed over to the nearest room, which happened to be one of the several broom closets that dotted around the castle, and locked herself in, and she bawled. And bawled. And she bawled until she lulled herself into a sleep that would last for hours, a temporary relief from the emotional trauma she brought on herself.

* * *

When Anna awoke, she was entangled with various brooms and cleaning supplies, her hair disheveled and red imprints scattered around her body from the objects that she rested on during her slumber. For a few blissful seconds, she didn't remember why she was asleep in the broom closet. She mulled over all of the scenarios that could have happened the night before that would lead her into such an uncomfortable resting spot. Once reality seeped in, however, and her memory retained clarity, her entire face flushed pale and her stomach sank. She scurried up to to the door, opening in slow enough to peek through the sliver of space between the frame and the door to check her surroundings to affirm it was clear.

She sauntered her way over to her room, which was void of Kristoff's presence. Of course he would refuse to sleep in her bed after she shouted someone else's name. If he hadn't already told the entire kingdom of what she did, he was going to tomorrow, and even if he didn't, she had to act on her hare-brained urges and kiss her own sister, who clearly didn't reciprocate these emotions. Either way, she was doomed, and her punishment seemed nothing less than total exile. This could very well be the last night she'd ever spend in the castle. She squirmed into her empty bed, pulling the sheets over her head to cocoon her entire body in sheer guilt.

She couldn't sleep. She didn't expect to, but her thoughts were clouded and her body was heavy. Her grasp of time, which was already flimsy, slipped away completely. The only hint she had that an eternity hadn't passed by was the darkness that still hung in the air outside her window.

The trots of horses outside kicked Anna out of her mope. She crawled out of her bed to peer outside the window, greeted by the sight of Elsa's carriage returning to the castle from her meeting with the ambassador of Weselton. This was it, Elsa was going to inform the guards to drag Anna out of the castle. She would not go without a fight, but would be overpowered by the amount of civilians who would help the guards banish her from the kingdom. Kristoff would be there, of course, and probably spit on her, with Sven kicking dirt at her. And Olaf...Olaf would not even understand what was going on. Maybe she could start a new life with him, as friends, since he's the closest she'd ever get to being near Elsa again.

Anna hoisted herself into bed again, wrapping the covers around herself as she braced herself for the impending doom.

Minutes passed. Nothing happened. A thought crept into Anna's head, if Elsa was going to throw her out, surely she would have informed the correct personnel before she left for her meeting? Anna pulled the sheets down slowly off her body to look around her room. Nothing. Was she safe?

Yet, just as her mind began to calm, her door creaked open, a line of light cascading onto her floor. Anna gasped and tensed her muscles up in an attempt to appear as though she were asleep. A guard was here to take her away, no doubt. Maybe if she timed an attack just right, she could ambush him and escape the kingdom herself...

But the footsteps that strolled into her room were too light to be those of a guard. They were those of a petite woman, trekking across the room with faint clicks. They were Elsa's footsteps. Had she entered Anna's room to take her out herself? Elsa stood next to Anna, whose eyes were shut so tight, a headache formed in her temples. Horror gripped her body as she heard Elsa stop in her tracks right in front of her, the women's breaths the only sound daring enough to penetrate the air around them.

Then she felt a familiar feeling. The feeling of a kiss, a strawberry kiss from Elsa, right on her lips.

And she lingered. _She lingered._


	4. Put 'Em Together It Just Makes Sense

**A/N**: guys the Frozen singalong is amazing go do it it's the best thing ever

and I don't know where this strawberry thing came from but I always headcanoned Elsa enjoying strawberries?!

* * *

Morning blanketed Arendelle in a veil of hope and new beginnings – with the sun filtering through her window, Anna woke up with a smile for the first time in months. Although for a few moments she couldn't remember if she dreamt last night or not, the faint, residual taste of strawberries on her lips refreshed her memory. It was real. She wasn't ashamed of the feelings she held for Elsa anymore, now they were out, and as far as she knew, mutual.

She strode down to the main hall, her step saturated with joy. For once in her life, she felt as if she owned this castle.

"Good morning, Walter," she said to one of the castle's several workers, who stood at the base of the staircase in idle.

"Princess Anna, it's—it's great to see you so..."

"Happy? Well, get used to it."

"Of course, your highness," Walter beamed.

Anna entered the dining hall, which was brighter than she's seen it in years. It was no surprise to her, though, since she usually slept through the mornings and missed breakfast entirely, but she wanted to take today by the throat and live it for all it had. The mornings in the castle didn't offer much of a difference than any other time of day, except for the groggier-than-usual personnel and culinary aromas, but there was a certain charm that was absent in the other hours, she discovered. A charm that manifested itself in the birds chirping outside, the scent of fresh brews that wafted through the halls, and the calm chatter in the living quarters of those about to start their day.

Elsa was already sat at the end of table, holding the handle of a mug of a hot beverage and reading one of the old books she took off the dusty bookshelf that sat in her room. A small bowl of strawberries rested next to her arm, half-empty. The dining hall was quiet enough that when one of the stationed guards coughed, it echoed through the hollowness of the ceilings for a full dozen or so seconds.

Anna stood at the entrance for a minute, swaying her body in attempt to catch Elsa's attention. When that failed, she raised a hand and waved it timidly.

"Yoo-hoo, Elsa," she squeaked.

"Oh, good morning, Anna," Elsa said, not taking her eyes off the book she was engrossed in.

Anna walked over to Elsa, choosing a chair on the opposite side of her oblivious sister. If she wasn't going to acknowledge her at the entrance, she'd have to notice her sitting across from her. "So, uh. Hi."

Elsa put her book down and crossed her arms, looking up at Anna. "Do you need something, Anna?"

Anna, bemused, tilted her head. She was aware of the possibility that Elsa really _did _think Anna was asleep during her little late-night visit. If that were the case, then she was surely coming off like a huge fool right now. "No, nothing, I just really wanted to see you is all."

Elsa bit her lip and darted her eyes to each side of the room. A few guards stood near the doors, looking as though they were ready for another cup of coffee. She then passed Anna a small folded yellow note, tapping it lightly with her index finger before returning to her book.

Anna unfolded the note, and written in neat hand-writing read, "_meet me in the study after the mid-day meal_."

Anna's heart leaped with excitement upon reading the note, anticipating some sort of romantic, forbidden arrangement. The possibilities of what Elsa wanted with Anna flooded her head and gave her a head rush. Elsa stayed seated with her eyes fixated on the book, but a grin pulled at the corner of her lips.

Anna nodded and left her chair, slipping out of the room in a nonchalant stroll, though she was exhilarated inside. The next few hours were going to scroll by painfully slow.

* * *

Anna couldn't eat. Her stomach was knotted over her meeting with Elsa, a cocktail of excitement and apprehension. When she entered the study, an unusually quaint room tucked in the back of the castle that was scarce used since Anna and Elsa completed their schooling, she paced the hardwood flooring. Elsa wasn't there yet, but Anna skipped the mid-day meal entirely.

After an undecipherable amount of time passed, spent examining the portraits that aligned the walls – which Anna recognized as "random old royal dudes"– the groan of the study door opening sent a sharp shiver down Anna's spine. She ceased with brief panic.

A pair of hands grasped her shoulder, gently, and spun her body around. Before she was even able to confirm it was Elsa who intruded on her, feminine lips met hers and parted with a sigh. Anna recognized the fruit and coffee flavor. She held back nothing this time. She grabbed her sisters sides with her fingertips, pulling her tiny frame into her own as she opened her own mouth and fit Elsa's with hers, as if their bodies were made with each other in mind. Unlike the last two kisses they shared, there was no doubt with this one that it was more than platonic affection – the two panted into the others' breaths, kneading their sister's skin with their fingers as though they were searching for something embedded within their flesh. Anna fell into Elsa, her body giving out under the astonishment of the passion the queen shared, but her elder was able to support Anna's entire body as she finalized the kiss with a whimper, pulling herself away.

Anna regained her stance, stumbling back from Elsa into the desk behind her. She allotted herself a a moment to study Elsa, who presented herself with a smirk and half-lidded eyes and an unfamiliar, rather revealing dress.

"Elsa, it's uh, so good to see you," Anna blurted. She articulated a week's worth of intense feelings in that kiss, but still couldn't compose a sentence that sounded anything less than ridiculous.

"And you, Anna," Elsa said, holding her own wrist in front of her. "But there is a reason I wanted to meet you here, as exciting as that was."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, yeah," Anna nodded, running her hands through her hair to flatten it down. "Anything. But I have some questions, too, I mean, of course, since—"

"Okay, but me first. First, I just wanted you to know, this has to be strictly, and I mean absolutely _strictly _confidential. If anyone in this castle were to find out that I kissed you, I don't know what the consequences will be, but I can't imagine they'd be anything less than severe."

"Yeah, I had no intentions of telling anyone, trust me," Anna said. Perhaps now wasn't the time to tell her about Kristoff. _Oh, crap, Kristoff. _She completely forgot about him. The silence of the kingdom was enough to keep her worries low, however. Maybe he didn't tell anyone.

"Okay, good. And the second thing is, well," Elsa started, letting out a light giggle. "You're—you're a good kisser."

Anna blushed, turning her body around for a second to hide it while putting a finger to her mouth to disguise her flustered chuckling. As disturbing as hearing that from your own sister normally would be, it turned Anna's cheeks redder than the strawberries Elsa ate. After a moment of recollecting herself, she faced Elsa. "As to you, too, sister."

"No, don't call me that, it's too weird," Elsa said, holding her palm up. "Don't call me sister after, well—that."

"Oh, uhm, how's...babe?" Anna suggested, half-joking.

"No, that's even weirder." Despite her objection, Elsa chuckled. "Look, this is still a bit weird to me. That's why you understand that whatever we're going to be doing, it's going to be different. It's going to be strange. And some things we may need to take slow. Really slow." Elsa's tone dropped into a serious range, eyes firmly set on Anna's.

"I know, it's okay. But...okay, is it my turn to ask questions?"

Elsa nodded. "Yes."

A dozen questions queued in Anna's thoughts, and she fought to find one to start off with. She could ask why, how, where, when, or what, but nothing came out of her mouth for a moment, with each question begging at the back of her throat all at once.

"Do you want me to start out with 'when'?" Elsa asked, noticing her sister struggle.

"Yeah, if you could, that'd be great." Anna nervously laughed, tapping her fingers on the desk behind her.

"Well, last night when you gave me your 'talk', afterward, I couldn't stop thinking about it. All through my meeting with the ambassador of Weselton, I could only think of the kiss, and how the way you tasted stayed on my lips while he droned on and on about why Arendelle should resume doing business with Weselton. When I got home, I heard you walk around and I just figured I'd try it again to see if it would be as amazing the second time. And it was. It was completely spur of the moment, and now that I look back, a really stupid thing to do, but I mean it lead us here, so I'm glad I did it."

Anna had never felt such elation, not from Hans, not from Kristoff. Her heart was about to jump through her own chest, it took every ounce of strength she had not to kiss Elsa again, but she had to focus on keeping it civil for a few moments. "What do I taste like, exactly?"

"Chocolate."

"Huh. You taste like strawberries," Anna admitted in a shrug.

"Chocolate and strawberries. I guess they really do go together."

* * *

Anna repressed a giggle as best as she could when Elsa walked into the castle's conference room, a rather empty room except for a royal seal that hung on the wall and a small table positioned in the exact center of it. The Duke of Levsi, a nearby village that bordered Arendelle's east, had an appointment with Elsa to discuss a trade deal. Anna insisted on accompanying Elsa, who agreed under the pretense that she "contained herself." Elsa took a regretful breath when she caught sight of Anna kicking her feet wildly and fidgeting with her own hands while seated at the conference table.

She took the seat next to Anna, who scooted her chair over to her as quickly as she sat down.

"So, like, how long do these things usually take?" Anna whispered to Elsa. She had never had the pleasure of sitting in for a meeting between royals herself, always finding the political side of her heritage to be rather dull, but wanted to experience one first hand alongside her sister, to become more acquainted with the queen she barely knew.

"I don't know, it depends." Elsa's eyes were fixed on the doors, awaiting the arrival of the Duke.

"Oh. Is it boring?"

"Anna," Elsa said, in a solemn voice, "if you don't want to do this, you're more than welcome to leave."

"No, no, I'm staying."

Before Elsa could respond, the doors opened and the Duke strolled in, his stance so straight you could serve dinner on his back. He was older, his hair and mustache the color of salt and pepper, and his face looked like he was constantly trying to pinpoint where a smell was coming from. His burly guard followed him into the room like an attack dog, his shoulders hunched and his jowls hanging, eying Anna and Elsa as though they were pieces of meat.

"Wow, what a looker," Anna whispered.

"Sssh," Elsa shushed, biting her lip so hard afterward that her crimson lipstick stained her teeth. Once she confirmed Anna was quiet, the young sister sulking in her chair in protest, she turned her attentions towards the elder royal. "Ah, Duke Alfred," she greeted, offering the Duke her hand to shake.

"Charmed to meet you, Queen Elsa," he said, grabbing her hand with one firm shake. "And...you are," he said, looking at Anna in suspicion.

"Anna. Oh, _Princess _Anna, yeah. And you're the Duke of Levis."

"...Levsi," he corrected.

"Right, right. Levsi."

The Duke eased himself into the chair opposite of the duo, taking his time. He whistled a long breath out of his nose while his guard stood behind him, idly cracking his knuckles. "Well now, I've come here to discuss this new tariff with you." As soon as the word "tariff" fell out of his overly-salivated mouth, Anna tuned him out and crossed her arms in boredom, leaning back into her chair.

After a few minutes passed, Alfred doing most of the talking and Elsa responding with affirmative "yes" and "mhmms," Anna grew restless and needed something to stimulate her. Searching the room for anything she could perhaps study or count, she noticed how boring and desolate this room was, making a mental note to decorate it and liven it up at some point in the near future. She glanced down, realizing the purple table cloth on the table reached all the way down to the intricate rug it rested on. She knew how to entertain herself now.

With Elsa at least appearing to be involved with her conversation with Alfred, who was talking about some sort of dairy tax, Anna leaned herself closer to the table, sitting up straight, slowly as to lower any suspicion. Giving herself a few beats before proceeding, she slithered her hand down onto Anna's lap, holding it there for a moment to gauge Elsa's reaction.

The queen didn't respond, except for a nearly unnoticeable lip bite on the corner of her mouth, her gaze still focused on the older Duke. That was enough for Anna to continue.

Elsa's warning echoed in Anna's head, "absolutely strictly confidential," which was not a caution she was going to take lightly. She steadily moved fingers along Elsa's thigh, until her hand was low enough to slip under her dress onto her bare skin. It took a few moments and bated breaths, but her hand managed to travel its way up to the top of Elsa's now tense leg, without Alfred detecting anything was going on. Anna's eyes shot forward, nodding occasionally along with Elsa to seem as if she were also engaged in the discussion with Alfred, but her fingers were now laced along Elsa's inner thigh and had no plans on stopping there. She could begin to feel heat radiating onto the back of her fingers, which sufficed to pulse a wave of arousal through her lower body. Elsa still did not object in any way, and crossed her legs over Anna's wandering hand, squeezing her ambling digits between her thighs. It was almost impossible for Anna to contain the urge that was brewing in her core to jump her sister, the softness of her skin tantalizing her nerves like warm silk. Fingertips finally reached the outside of their destination, caressing the fabric that encased it.

"I'm glad we can agree on these terms," Alfred said, rising from his chair.

_Damn. _Anna's hand snapped back to her side, still tingling.

"It's mutual," Elsa said, although she looked at Anna with a smirk while she spoke.

The Duke walked proud out of the room, his body guard looming behind him and wiping his nose with the back of his hairy hand. Once the doors shut, Anna was too embarrassed to face her sister, choosing instead to gape down to the floor. The heat of the moment was over, and faded out into a queer awkwardness.

"So, is that what you call 'taking it slow?'" Elsa asked Anna.

"He was boring and I was bored. I sort of lost control of myself."

Elsa, grinning, huffed and straightened her dress out. "I guess I'll just have to take you to all of my meetings, then." She elbowed Anna in the ribs in jest.

Anna smiled and shifted her stare up to her sister. "Of course, your royal highness. Anything for you."

* * *

**A/N:** woahhoh hey there

this is not the end of the fic I swear there's a LOT more coming I just felt like I wanted to stop this chapter here uwu


	5. Heart Worth Mining

_"I'll see you tonight." _Everything about the way Elsa whispered that into Anna's ear was perfect. The low inflection, the short breath she exhaled after the word "tonight," the playful way she looked at her afterward. Anna played the scene on repeat in her mind as the evening grew older and the early night sky began to ascend over Arendelle. Although the couple was open with their affections for each other, their relationship had to remain in immediate, absolute incognito. The past few days saw a few quick pecks, the occasional lingered embrace and a copped feel here and there, but Elsa's political schedule consumed a majority of her life. So when the first night they had to themselves came, the two arranged for Elsa to visit Anna, after the stationed guards and workers went off to bed and all that remained were the patrolling night watchmen lurking the castle. Neither of them were sure what to expect, the only certain thing was that it would be a first time for both of them, whether it would be positive or negative was another issue.

Anna lay on top of her bed, not bothering to shelter herself under the covers since Elsa would be arriving to her room shortly. Although there was no danger of anyone other than Elsa entering her room, the two agreed on a signal for Elsa to give upon arrival to confirm that it was indeed her. _Absolutely strictly confidential. _No room for any error.

A few minutes after Anna settled into her bed to await her new lover, light pierced the black in her room as the door whined open, followed by the signal: five gentle knocks, rapping on the wood of the door frame.

"Come in," Anna beckoned, too hesitant to say anything more inviting.

"Uh, good evening, Anna," Elsa said, creeping into the room as quietly as her feet would allow her.

"No, shut the door behind you, we can't have anyone—"

"I know, I know, it's okay," Elsa assured, closing the door in one silent push.

Anna sat herself up, propping herself up with her hands firm on her mattress. After a moment passed with Elsa still loitering at her doorway, it became clear this encounter wasn't going to play out as smoothly as she fantasized it to be. "Aren't you going to come over here?"

Anna heard Elsa giggle from across the room. "If you want me to."

"Come on, Elsa," Anna pleaded with a hint of amusement. "I'm not going to lead you into this."

"Into what, exactly?" Elsa asked. Anna sensed the nervousness concealed in her voice. It was easy to forget that even though Elsa was as proud and strong as any queen would be, she was still innocent and inexperienced. If anything, Anna found it incredibly endearing and adorable.

"You sounded a lot more, uh, _into this _earlier," Anna said.

"I'm sorry, I'm just new to this whole thing." Elsa's voiced fell into a hush.

Anna lifted herself off the bed, ambling over to her scared sister. She grabbed her arm, Elsa beautifully illuminated in the moonlight. "It's okay, I got you."

"I'm so sorry, I'm just nervous," Elsa admitted, blushing.

"Don't apologize," Anna laughed, leading her sister over to her bed. The fact that the woman she adored for such a long time would feel such apprehension around her delighted her in a way she didn't think was possible. "Man, you're not really good at this stuff, are you?"

Elsa gracefully sat on Anna's bed, which didn't sink further than an inch under the small woman's weight. Only Elsa was able to achieve such elegance when doing something as mundane as sitting. "Well, I'm not the kind of person to get engaged with someone I just met, if that's what you meant."

"Hey, low blow," Anna said. "Hans was a mistake. And so was Kristoff." Anna didn't have the best track record when it came to her romantic partners, a realization that fabricated as she spoke.

"And me...?"

Anna answered with a brief kiss, still grasping Elsa's arm. They had exchanged enough fleeting kisses that the strawberry taste Elsa carried on her lips was almost permanently ingrained on Anna's taste buds.

"I see," Elsa responded with a grin.

Anna giggled for a short moment, admiring Elsa's radiant face as it was lit up in the faint light that spilled in from the window. She never felt more lucky in her life. "You're so adorable."

_Just go for it._ All those times Anna had to suppress the urge to ambush her sister with affection had lead up to this night, with Elsa seated next to her, practically waiting for her to initiate since it was obvious she was too embarrassed to herself, but Anna couldn't find the mental strength to do anything but sit there in idle worry. It was so easy for her hand to wander into Elsa's lap and tease the woman when she was distracted with the Duke, but now that her attention and anticipation was entirely focused on her, she choked.

"So, it's a nice night, isn't it?" was all that came out of Anna's mouth after a few moments of contemplation. _Really? You're going to say that?_

Elsa nodded and glanced down at the floor. Anna couldn't tell if she was bored or anxious, the only thing she was certain of was that it was now or never.

In a swift motion, she conjured enough energy to pounce Elsa, bringing her to the mattress while her hands clutched Elsa's shoulders, ogling down at the now-detained queen, who squirmed under her hold for a second.

She considered opening her mouth and speaking something possibly clever or seductive, with Elsa now in her control underneath her, but instead decided on joining her lips with Elsa's as they had a dozen times before, easing her mouth open until she could feel Elsa do the same. For the first time their tongues met, and between the groans the two girls released into the cold air, intertwined as their lips danced on each other and shared their distinctive flavors. Anna's hand wandered down Elsa's torso, her body shivering at her touch with her lower body involuntarily bounding into Anna's when fingertips made contact with all the sensitive spots on her abdomen. Anna's fingers shook as they appreciated the softness and suppleness Elsa's fair skin had to offer, Elsa's hands firm on Anna's shoulder blades and making small efforts to pull her closer.

Anna's hand flicked up Elsa's nightgown, exposing her lower body that writhed beneath her while their kiss gained intensity. Arousal had taken control of all of Anna's instincts, almost primitively easing a hand between Elsa's thighs and kneading the center of her silk underwear.

As soon as her fingers applied any sort of pressure into the fabric that sheathed Elsa, Elsa escaped the ardent kiss, vocalizing her protest. "No, no," she breathed, grabbing Anna's arm with enough force to surge pain through Anna's limb.

Before questioning Elsa's objection, Anna seized her hand away from Elsa's body, pushing herself up off her sister. "No? I thought—wait, why?"

"I'm sorry, Anna, I—I don't know, I can't do this right now."

Clinched with panic and worry, Anna rolled off of Elsa, situating herself into a composed sitting position, with Elsa following, although steeped with shame as she refused to look Anna in the eye. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," Anna said, placing her hand on Elsa's. "But I just—I mean, I thought we were going to—"

"And I want to, I assure you," Elsa spoke, cutting off her sister. She met Anna's worried gaze, her eyes red as though she were about to cry. "Eventually. I guess I'm just not as ready as I thought I was."

"Did I do it wrong? Did I hurt you?" Anna asked in concern. "Oh, I'm so stupid. You're not going to want to lose it to your younger sister, are you?"

"No, that's not it," Elsa said. "It's just too fast for me. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that, I mean, I'm in love with my sister."

_ Did she really just say that? _Anna's heart fluttered with joy. "In love?" Elsa harbored affection for Anna, that much she was sure of, but nothing deeper than juvenile infatuation, she thought.

"Of course," Elsa said with a soft grin.

"I love you too. I mean, like—as a sister, yeah, but also as, well, you know," Anna confessed, shrugging her shoulders up in embarrassment. Her cheeks flushed a shade so crimson, she could see red out of the corners of her eyes. Even though she surrendered herself under Hans' sword, she had never felt this vulnerable in her young life.

"I'm glad to hear that," Elsa said, bearing a smile that reminded Anna of the one she held at coronation, one that could thaw even the coldest heart. "It will happen, I just need to get used to this whole thing."

"You're worth waiting for." Anna touched Elsa's forehead with her own, stroking the back of her hand. "I mean, you're already queen, so I don't have to worry about you trying to overthrow yourself like Hans did."

Elsa snickered. "I'm definitely not like Hans."

"He's such an asshole. If you start acting weird and lying about my death, I _may _have to report you and kick you overboard."

"Oh, I'll try not to." Elsa kissed Anna's neck between a short cackle. "You have to promise not to imprison me, then."

"Well, I can't guarantee you I won't try to tie you up."

"_Anna,_" Elsa barked, though a small smile formed on her face.

"Eventually, I mean." Anna smirked.

A quiet minute passed, the two enjoying the solemn comfort of the others company. These nights were going to be few and far between. "I hate that I have to leave soon," Elsa sighed, holding her hands in her lap.

"Why do you have to? Why can't you just sleep here with me?"

"Because, I can't cause any suspicion at all. If anyone saw me leave your room tomorrow morning, I'd have a lot of questions to answer." Anna's never heard such a change of inflection in Elsa's voice; it was heartbreaking to hear such fear from someone so beautiful.

"I don't think you sleeping in my room for one night is going to make anyone suspicious. I mean, really, who jumps to such conclusions when a girl sleeps in the same room as her own sister? I think you're just being a little paranoid." Anna spoke as calmly as she could, even though her words had an inkling of venom veiled in them.

"I am _not," _Elsa heaved, puffing her chest out. "I told you, we have to be—"

"Strictly confidential, yeah, I know," Anna sighed. This was a battle she was not going to triumph over just yet. "I'll win you over soon."

"You've already won me over," Elsa said, delivering a tender kiss on Anna's cheek. Anna could feel Elsa's lips curl into a smile on her skin.

"Can't you just stay here for a few more minutes?" Anna nestled her head between Elsa's shoulder and neck, knowing very well Elsa couldn't refuse her. She wrapped an arm around the queen's waist, resting her fingers on her lower body as it rose with each breath she took.

Elsa and Anna nuzzled into each other, the room completely coated in silence barring the occasional content sigh that escaped either of one of them.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt."

* * *

**A/N**: oh no sorry for the mega fluff

hope I didn't disappoint anyone I just like these cute relationship developments, smut will come to those who wait 8)

as always reviews are encouraged and although I proof-read, if you catch any grammar/spelling errors please message me so I can fix them ASAP!


	6. Watch Your Step

Morning was now Anna's favorite part of day.

Any official members of the castle who were set to work during the morning usually did so with lulled enthusiasm, mulling around the area with eyelids that were weighted down with the youth of the day. The guards were less thorough with their patrols, as any enemies who would dare to penetrate the castle walls would never be so dense as to plan an attack at such a time of day. Best of all, however, was the promise of Elsa's presence, since she didn't take appointments any earlier than lunch time, and with the lowered attention of the royal workers, it was easier for the two to get away with more than they would have at any other part of the day. In fact, it was not uncommon for the royal pair to be left alone for minutes at a time during the early hours. Although Anna would have preferred congregating in either of their rooms, Elsa was still a little too cautious when it came to taking their meetings into their chambers, fearing someone would somehow immediately jump to conclusions, even though Anna had tried to assure her a hundred times over no one would make such rash judgments. Any other part of the castle would have raised suspicion if they met there frequently in private, so the dining hall was the only room where it was expected of them to migrate to every day and socialize, despite its knack of being a popular concourse area of sorts. Anna was starting to find solace in the calmness of the dining hall, however.

"Elsa," Anna said, her face brightening upon sight of the queen.

"Good morning," Elsa greeted Anna with glee. Her eyes momentarily darted to the corner of the dining hall, where a hidden guard was assigned behind one of the enormous pillars.

Anna acknowledged Elsa's warning with a subtle nod. Holding her own hands behind her back, she roamed over to the dining table, which bore a small variety of sweet pastries and mini-sandwiches in the center. Plucking a chocolate croissant from one of the serving plates, Anna selected the chair perpendicular to Elsa, settling into the felt cushion.

"Hey," she whispered in a chortle. She still experienced the same excitement she did when their affair started a few weeks ago, glancing over at the guard who maintained his gaze on the rear doors.

"You're in a good mood," Elsa said, tracing her fingers along the bowl of strawberries that rested next to her.

"Why shouldn't I be? It's the best time of day."

"Well, you don't have to tell me that," Elsa smiled, eating a single strawberry in one mouthful.

Even watching Elsa eat strawberries was starting to drive Anna wild, with the way she flicked her tongue out to envelope every berry before consumption. "How long has he been there?" she asked, motioning to the drowsy guard. He _had _to go before she lost all of her inhibitions and made him witness something he shouldn't.

"Long enough. Give it some time." Elsa winked at her impatient sister, bringing another strawberry up to her mouth, charting the fruit around her lips as though she were applying it like lipstick.

"Oh, you are _so _doing that on purpose," Anna huffed, her eyes haunting Elsa's fingers.

Elsa laughed, losing control of the strawberry as it slipped out of her slender fingers, bouncing off the table onto the floor. "I didn't think you'd actually find this tantalizing," she said in a whisper, hunching her shoulders above her neck.

"Sssh." Anna looked over to verify that the guard wasn't listening in on their conversation. "You are such a fucking tease." For a woman who wasn't ready for anything more sensual than a light, over the clothes petting session, Elsa certainly didn't hold back when it came to provoking Anna.

"Language," Elsa warned with a daring smile. "You're a princess."

"I'm sorry. You're such a fucking tease, your majesty."

Elsa held her arm over her mouth in a weak attempt to suppress the laughs that were escaping her mouth in quick bursts, but with barely any success, the guard finally turning his attention over to the giggling girls.

"Just shut up before he starts to get suspicious," Elsa warned between snickers.

Anna started to nibble on her croissant, savoring the chocolate taste as flakes of pastry accumulated on the table below her. "I know it's not hot like eating strawberries," she mumbled.

"Doesn't really do it for me, no." A grin emerged on Elsa's face as she observed the princess attempt to eat the pastry.

Anna stuck her tongue out at Elsa before taking another bite. She's never tasted a pastry so freshly baked and warm, the chocolate practically melted upon contact with her tongue. Attending the dining hall in the morning did have its advantages. "God, this is so good," she groaned, rolling her eyes into the back of her head as she enjoyed the sweetness of the treat.

Anna felt a pressure on her hand, followed by the sensation of warm digits weaving between hers. Croissant still held to her mouth, she glanced down to her hand, greeted with the sight of Elsa's hand resting on hers.

"Aw," Anna squeaked.

"You're just too cute sometimes," Elsa murmured, resting her chin on her other hand.

Anna pulled her hand between the two women's chairs, assuring that it was concealed from the guard's sight. They were really starting to push the limits between what could be taken as sibling love, and what broke the boundaries of platonic affection.

After a pregnant moment passed, Anna finishing off the baked good and Elsa devouring just a few more strawberries, the guard left his station, relieved of his duty. The sound of his steady footprints fading away into the distance instantly raised the moods of the two. For the next few minutes, the girls were completely alone, before the next lookout was assigned the same post.

"Christ, I thought he'd never leave," Anna sighed.

As if on cue, the girls scuttled their chairs close together until they were mere inches away. Once they were within proximity, they huddled into each other, sharing a lingered kiss, their motions so concise and fast, it was clear they had rehearsed this several times before. Anna's hands ran through Elsa's neatly braided hair, undoing a few of the fastens that she knew Elsa so meticulously worked on, though Elsa showed no signs of protest, retaliating with a hand around Anna's slim waist as her fingers dug into her clothed flesh. The couple had not been able to share such a fervorous embrace in at least two days, and even that was time enough to create a longing between the two that was only satisfied by the familiar unique tastes they carried, and feeling the heat of each other's breaths on the shell of their ears.

Eventually, Anna's breaths evolved into small moans, already feeling the effects of the kiss form heat in her lower body, and although she became quite an expert at repressing the urges that followed the amorous feelings that inevitably formed, the moans that escaped her throat were as involuntary as her rapid heart beats.

"Hey guys!" a recognizable voice shot from across the room.

"Nn—Olaf," Anna gasped, breaking the connection with Elsa.

"Nolaf? No, it's just me, Olaf."

Elsa naturally tore her chair away from Anna, dropping her hands onto the table in the least casual act of recovery Anna's ever witnessed. "Olaf! It's, uh, what are you—what are you do—Olaf?" Syllables fumbled out of her mouth in an anxious haste, she was hoping she was able to string together something comprehensible.

"Well, normally I spend mornings with Sven, but I haven't really seen the little guy in a few days." Olaf waddled into the dining hall, his flurry bringing a burst of cold that caused Anna to shiver. "So I thought I'd come hang out with you guys."

Anna looked at Elsa, who returned a stare as bewildered as hers. "Olaf, uh, about what you just saw—"

"You mean you guys kissing?" Olaf asked, his smile beaming. He plopped his chubby frame down between the sisters, staring up at them with the same enthusiasm and playfulness he always contained.

"Yes, that," Anna agreed firmly. "You're not surprised?"

"No, why? Should I be?"

"Well, we're sisters, and we're both girls. And I was with Kristoff, which as far as you know I still am." Anna couldn't stop the words falling out of her mouth as fast as she wanted to. "But I'm not anymore, which...yeah."

Elsa leered at Anna. "What she's saying is that it wasn't exactly something we meant for you to see."

"What's the problem? I thought she was your true love?"

Olaf didn't understand? Anna's anxiety snapped away as quickly as it arrived. _Olaf didn't understand. _Of course, since Olaf was an oracle of Elsa, being crafted from her very hands. At the very least, he parroted Elsa's personality in his own way, and would hold no question about the girls' relationship. There was no jeopardy in being truthful with him. "Well, she's a very special friend. I mean, we're very special friends. Kind of like Kristoff and I were."

"Hey, I had a special friend once. He was this itty bitty rabbit, he used to follow me around and try to nip my butt all the time. I actually named him something, what was it? Peter? Jack? Keanu? Ah, this is going to drive me crazy."

"Olaf, this is different. At least I hope to God it is. You can't tell anyone about what you saw in here," Anna instructed, lowering her head down to be level with the snowman's.

"Oh, okay. Oh, it's a secret! I love keeping secrets so much." Olaf clasped his hands together, holding them close to his frozen body.

"Yes, it's a secret. An important one. If you can keep this secret, I will decree you the official, uh, Royal Snowman of Arendelle." Her head was too fogged with worry to come up with anything more creative and rewarding, but Olaf was so excitable and willing, it would suffice.

Elsa, eyes repleted with uncertainty, tilted her head at Anna, who just shrugged in return. _It was better than nothing._

"That sounds important. I've never felt important before!" Olaf exclaimed, throwing his arms out.

"Great, well this will be a first. And it starts right now with this guy over there," Anna said, her sentence rushing out as she spotted the new warden stroll into the room. "To start, I want you to leave this room and not come back for a very long time."

"Oh, gotcha." Olaf sent a wink over to the princess.

He passively wobbled his way across the grand room, trailing small piles of snow around him. His twig arms stuck out of his sides like protruding, swaying branches, brushing each chair he passed on the way. Before he entirely exited, he presented another, more exaggerated wink at the twosome.

"Oh my God, that could have been anyone," Elsa panicked, holding her temples as ropes of her now unbounded blond hair fell over her fingers. Her voice was so quiet, it barely carried more than a few feet away.

"It was just Olaf, though," Anna muttered, still irritated over his disruption.

"Anyone could have walked in on us. Why was I so foolish to think we were safe here?"

"So does this mean you're okay with meeting somewhere more private?" Anna asked, perking her body up in optimism.

"Where? Where can we possibly go together, every single day, without people getting suspicious?"

"Why are you so afraid of people finding out? You do realize it's quite common for siblings to hang out together?" Anna scowled, her enthusiasm dropping upon hearing Elsa's grief.

"Anna, I'm the one who kept a secret for thirteen years. I know what I'm doing here." Elsa didn't even establish eye contact with her enraged sister, gawking out instead into space, as if her brain was straining to come up with a solution.

Anna grunted and clumsily rested her head on her hand. "We could meet in the garden," she suggested in a silent mumble.

A smile flourished on the queen's face, her eyes lighting up with the epiphany. "Of course. That's the most private area of the kingdom. No one would see us leave or enter."

"Wait, what? Really? You're okay with this?" Anna lifted her head from her hand, staring at her sister with piqued interest at her reaction.

"It's perfect." Elsa's head jerked over to meet Anna's gaze.

"But, but, I mean, people are going to be wondering where we are in the morning," Anna hesitated.

"It's safer than any room in this forsaken building, where attendants patrol every corridor. The only people we'd have to worry about are the perimeter wardens, and even they're too focused on the actual castle barriers. If anyone asks, we just like the fresh air."

"Well, it's a start," Anna smirked, secretly beaming with excitement. "And all the tall plants and stuff would prevent anyone from seeing us."

"Don't get any ideas just yet," Elsa taunted.

"I never said anything," Anna defended, lightly slapping the back of her sister's hand. "I meant like, hugging and kissing and all that stuff."

"Of course." Elsa's voice remained inflated with ridicule, almost breaking her whisper.

"You're a pervert," Anna said. "You just can't admit it."

"If you'll excuse me, sis, I have to attend an important celebration in the honor of our retiring commander," Elsa announced loudly, surging out of her seat with decorum. She weaved her hands through her pristine hair, fixing the sections Anna ruined in her fit of passion.

"I thought you hated it when we called each other that," Anna reminded in muted breath.

"Not when people are listening," Elsa responded through her teeth. "I'll see you tomorrow." She gave the guard a dignified smile and meandered out of the dining hall, her day dress cascading behind her in wonderful rhythm.

Anna buried her face in her arms to cloak the shade of red her cheeks were converting to as blood pooled to the surface of her skin in a profound blush, almost flushing out the outlines of her freckles. Images of what could possibly happen tomorrow morning in the gardens already started to torrent in her imagination, now that the restraints of possible guard interference was gone. Tomorrow was not going to come soon enough.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry again for the one-scene chapter, these scenes are playing out a lot longer than I thought they would and I like to keep most chapters within a certain word-range. Hopefully the next few chapters will be broken up more, as I have literally dozens of ideas I need to outline first. :') as always, grammar and spelling mistakes possible, message me if caught, reviews are encouraged, yada yada yada, you guys are the freakin' best


	7. Noticed By Someone

"What is it? Why can't you just tell me?" Anna called out as Elsa lead her down the main corridor in hurried steps.

"I told you, I have to show you, I can't just tell you. It'll ruin the surprise." Elsa held onto her sister's arm in a tight grasp, as though she were an animal leading her to water.

Anna's head didn't have the capacity to fathom exactly what it was that Elsa was so eager to show her. As far as she knew, besides being able to create wonderful designs and structures with her ice powers and successfully rule an entire kingdom with a such small amount of exhaustion, Elsa had no discernible talents. At the same time, however, there was a lot about Elsa that Anna had yet to discover, she was only familiar with the tip of the iceberg that was the queen, since her girlhood was spent being shut out and becoming more well acquainted with her bedroom door with her own sister's voice. Perhaps Elsa sculpted a wonderful masterpiece out of ice, or maybe she held some hidden painting talent that she shielded from Anna and wanted to surprise her with some sort of royal portrait. Or maybe she secretly adopted a baby in celebration of their relationship, or was harboring a fugitive and for some reason was excited to introduce him to Anna. Whatever it was was already doomed to pale in comparison with the imaginative possibilities that amassed in Anna's brain while she fumbled down the hallway in Elsa's possession.

When Elsa arrived at her door, which brewed over the two in a menacing glory that awoken the pain of Anna's past, she twirled around to face her sister who looked up at the door in hesitance. The peeling paint on the wood served as a reminder of how much time had passed since her childhood, when the white paint would dust off into her knuckles every time she knocked. Anna couldn't help but present an expression of reluctance when faced with it.

"What's wrong? I promise you, another snow monster isn't going to pop out when I open the doors," Elsa said, recognizing Anna's fear.

"It's just, I don't remember the last time anything good happened in front of these doors," Anna said, flashing a nervous smile at Elsa. "Whatever you wanna show me, it can be anywhere else."

"No, it has to be here. Trust me, you'll like it." Elsa put a hand to her chest, holding her other hand out gently to her scared sister in an attempt to relax her.

Still not being well versed in how to respond when Elsa showed any sort of affection, Anna put her own hand out to touch Elsa's, who laughed quietly upon the contact. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I thought—I thought you wanted me to touch your hand. Which I know sounds really stupid, I'm sorry, my brain's just really fuzzy right now," Anna stammered, recoiling her hand back into her body swiftly. _Great job, idiot._

"Anna," Elsa giggled, grabbing Anna's quivering hand. "I always want to do that."

Her hand was warm. _Warm. _And yet it sent chills through Anna's body. "I'm so glad to hear that, uh, oh gosh, so what was it you wanted to show me?" Anna asked, trying to prevent herself from tripping over her words any further as they fell out of her mouth like crashing dinner plates.

In a gentle motion, Elsa retreated her hand from her nervous sister. She took a sharp inhale through her nose, rising her chest while her arm reached at the doorknob. _Just open it already. _Anna fought between closing her eyes in instinctive fear or widening them in curious anticipation, the only thing that was certain was that she could not defeat the hurt that surfaced when she stood in front of the doors. Even the last time she was there, she wound up crying in a broom closet.

After a short pause, filled with preparation from Elsa and anxiety from Anna, Elsa finally opened the door, pulling the massive slabs of wood open in one quick bout of strength, finally revealing what she was so eager to show Anna in the most dramatic gesture possible.

_Nothing._

Anna slunk past Elsa, her head poking up tall from her shoulders while searching Elsa's room intently. Her uneasiness had now turned into a nostalgic sadness. It had been a long time since she'd seen her sister's room illuminated in the full grandeur of day light, with sun rays laying fingers of light along the elaborately designed, cool-colored carpets that lodged the wooden floors beneath them. Everything was where she remembered it to be, although her memory from her childhood wasn't as accurate and precise as she originally thought it was since it was tampered with by the trolls, but nothing in her room seemed to be out of place or extraordinary. She inspected each crack in the wall and brush stroke in the decorations, and couldn't find anything that seemed special enough for Elsa to show her – with Elsa standing proud behind her as though whatever it was she was keen to show Anna was obvious.

"So...it's your room," Anna noted, curious.

"Yes, and it's, well, normal." Elsa's voice was laced with content.

"Normal? It looks normal, I mean, I don't see anything strange—normal?" Anna whirled around, her curiosity now at its peak.

Elsa nodded, her smile pinned at the corner of her cheeks as if it were tacked onto her face. "Normal, as in, no ice. It's just...room. My room."

Normal. _Of course. _Anna did a quick double take, her eyes thoroughly scanning the vast emptiness of the space that was now clear of all ice and snow, instead boasting a much more welcoming environment. "When did this happen?" she asked, her gaze still trained on Elsa's room.

Elsa took a few steps forward, joining her sister. Anna could see Elsa hesitate to grab her hand in the corner of her vision, helping the queen out by carefully reaching over and fastening her fingers through Elsa's. "Around a week ago." Elsa leaned her head onto Anna's shoulders, who was suddenly aware of how much her body was swaying.

"Stupid question, but—is it because of me?" Anna asked, squeezing her older sister's hand a little tighter, drenched with her perspiration. Her sweaty palms intertwined with Elsa's warm yet comfortable hands somehow fit so well.

"I think that's a fair conclusion to make," Elsa said.

"This is the best surprise I've ever gotten." And it was. With Elsa's emotionally dampening childhood preventing her from making any grand gesture of affection that extended beyond initiating the occasional hand-holding or kiss, it was easy for Anna to sometimes doubt that Elsa loved her like she claimed she did, so the knowledge that her compassion for Anna alone was enough to subdue the effects of her once out-of-control ice powers was a better reminder than any amount of physical affection could.

Anna turned her head up towards her taller counterpart's, pressing plush lips into hers, losing herself briefly as she sunk into Elsa. When they finished, Elsa's smile was washed over by a sudden expression of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Anna."

"What? Sorry for what?"

"The way you looked at my door earlier – I had no idea that you were so traumatized from it. I didn't know I hurt you that much."

"You made up for it, though. I just need to learn to stop living in the past."

"If there's anything I can ever do to make up for it, just—"

"Sssh," Anna smiled, placing her index finger over the panicked woman's mouth. "Just promise me you'll keep the whole ice thing under control."

"I promise," Elsa nodded with renewed calmness, her shoulders plunging down.

"And also that you'll give me a quick goodnight kiss every night after dinner, no matter how much fish or old cheese I ate," Anna smirked.

Elsa rolled her eyes, mouth still strung up in a smile. "Okay."

"Do you promise?" Anna teased, jabbing a bony finger into Elsa's rib cage.

"I promise."

* * *

The gardens did prove to be a more private and inconspicuous meeting area, but Anna managed to miss taking into account the weather, which was unforgiving and harsh as it was every winter. Of course, Elsa didn't seem to mind, in fact it brought out a rare tranquility in her. It did give an excuse for Anna to snuggle up _extra close _to Elsa when they met there in the mornings under the vise that she provided extra warmth, but Elsa knew the truth and, if anything, seemed to enable it. The high foliage – which was gutted from all beauty in the unforgiving winter – provided a barrier against most of the winds that would have otherwise hurt Anna.

Anna would never object, however. She had braved the frozen for her sister before, it was a small price for her to pay in order to be able to hold Elsa's strangely warm hand and cuddle close to her when a rare gust of wind that was too cold for Anna to endure would buff the two. Their 'conferences' usually lasted around a half hour or so, which was never enough for the two of them. Elsa would try as hard as she could to open up her already inherently busy nights, but with scarce any luck. She kept her promise, though, and always delivered a quick kiss to Anna every night before she left for whatever pressing political manner she had to attend – even if Anna's stomach was filled with fish and old cheese, and the taste of strawberries would linger on her mouth through till dawn, almost making Anna forget she went to bed alone every night.

* * *

"Anna."

Anna's body halted all movement when her name was spoken by the unmistakable blond.

"Anna, I'm sorry."

She turned around, slowly, a small shred of hope in her telling her it wasn't him. He left her. _He left. _But the large frame that blocked the cobblestone path beneath her was not one she could forget. His slumped shoulders and drooping expression only told the story of regret and guilt he carried, it was not difficult for Anna to predict what he wanted. She wished she was wrong.

"I've been such an idiot. I don't know why I would ever jump to such stupid conclusions. It was a long day, and I just really wanted to get my rocks off. I didn't expect I'd lose the girl I loved over it." Anna searched as hard as she could, but she could not find any indication that he was lying. He was as sincere as he could be.

"How—how did you even know I was here?" she asked, holding her arms close against her to battle the cold. She had just left her daily meeting with Elsa, who always departed a few minutes later to lower suspicions and allow enough time for Anna to reach wherever she needed to alone.

"You weren't inside so I asked one of the guards, he told me he's spotted you in the garden some mornings. I'm not sure why, since it's cold enough to freeze over hell, but I won't judge." _Wait, _they saw us?

"I'm—Kristoff, you're—you've been gone for a month and a half now."

"I know, I know. I was on my own, I mean for the most part, but I couldn't stop thinking about you. Sven convinced me to come back and ask for you to forgive me." He approached Anna, grabbing her hands as soon as he was within range, staring into her eyes with a look so innocent it almost disgusted her.

What was she going to do? She had no reason to say no to him that wouldn't rouse doubt she was being honest, and if she said yes, she'd be cheating on Elsa. Maybe Elsa would understand – but she didn't want to juggle two relationships at once, especially since most of her effort was being tirelessly extorted into her secret affair with her sister. She was literally speechless, staring into his eyes like a lost puppy.

"I'll take that as an 'I forgive you,'" Kristoff concluded, leaning in for a kiss. Anna turned her head just so slightly, enough that Kristoff's lips arrived at the skin right next to her mouth.

"Wait, I don't—"

"Wow, you taste like strawberries. I've never noticed that before."

Anna inched away from him slowly, escaping his hands. She shook her head with nervous laughter as her palms retreated up in a timid display of defense. "Kristoff, I think it's best if we don't—"

"Hi, Ann—oh." Elsa's voice dropped like a hunted bird when she saw Kristoff.

"Elsa, hey, so it's Kristoff! He's back. Isn't that great?" Anna gyrated around, facing the queen who just emerged from the garden. She gave Elsa the most panicked look she could conjure up without tipping off Kristoff.

"O-oh, it's so good to see you again, Kristoff," Elsa greeted, faking a grin. "I'm so glad you're back. Might I ask what made you want to return?"

"I just couldn't stay away from her," he said, grabbing her hands again. _Why, of all times, do you choose to be romantic right now? Where was this when I wanted it? _Anna's hands unconsciously constricted his in anger and fear.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. I'll just leave you two alone, I hope you lovebirds can come up with an _arrangement_," Elsa said, emphasizing the last word, before pacing by the couple. Anna's hand reached out to touch Elsa's arm, in a desperate move to cling onto her and not be left alone with Kristoff, but her hand slid off while she slunk away. As Elsa left the pair, she brushed up against Kristoff with her shoulders. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Kristoff's head perked up, his pupils swaying back and forth as Elsa disappeared into the castle's entrance. After a strong moment of silence, he snapped his head to look at Anna with his face molded into the most theatrical expression of confusion.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked, fearing the answer.

"She smells like strawberries."

* * *

**A/N:** sorry for the late update :c i'm really sick (again) and have a high fever and ughhh life is hard yo

I have a feeling there are a lot of mistakes and stuff in this chapter since I'm too sick right now to think straight so if there are I apolgizeeee i'm so sorry ahh


	8. Forbidden Fruit

**A/N: **because who needs consistent chapter title themes

* * *

"Oh." Anna's thoughts raced through her head too fast for her to grab one and say anything more articulate, but he wouldn't make the connection, not if she kept her big mouth shut. _Just don't say anything._

"You taste like strawberries..." he said, keeping strong eye contact with her. _Brilliant connection._

Dread set into Anna, completely overruling her rational thinking and opening the floodgates to her jumbled mind, her mouth busting open and releasing the weakest excuse that bubbled up inside her. "Well, you know what they say, it runs in the family. I mean strawberries. Strawberries run in the family. Like, we all like strawberries, because we're sisters. We're not strawberries." _We're not strawberries?_ So much for staying quiet. Anna bit down on her lip in an effort to shut herself up, studying Kristoff's face intently in hopes he bought her senseless babble.

"Okay, I've never seen you this panicked before. Anna, what's going on?" Kristoff asked, somehow remaining rather calm, in contrast to the hysterical woman in front of him.

"Nothing, we just like strawberries. We like eating strawberries." As she heard herself speak, Anna cringed at the absurdity of her weak attempt at obscuring the truth.

"I'm not stupid, Anna. I know you're trying to hide something. There is more to this than just...fruit. Look, I'm just going to give you a chance to explain to me what's going on. I promise I won't get mad."

The way he kept his composure, the way his eyes smiled right at the redhead, it was though he already knew, yet didn't have any problems with it, but there was no way he'd understand, not after telling her she needed help and walking out on her. Was it really worth risking being honest, or living in another lie and taking him back into hesitant arms, in a miserably ever after? The dilemma struggled inside Anna, turning her stomach and creating a lump in her throat that made it difficult for her to declare a decision – tell him the truth, or continue to deny everything.

"I love Elsa." White hot panic set in the instant the words left her mouth. Such an ambiguous statement that carried so much weight in the context, half of her hoped he knew what she meant, the other half hoped he didn't, but with his head recoiling back slowly with a look of realization resting into his dark eyes, there was no question he knew what she meant. "I love Elsa, and I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know why I'm doing this, why I'm spending most of my time trying to hide everything with her and following her ridiculous rules to keep everything _super secret, _but I love her, I love her so much." If the truth was out, she may as well let it all out and not hold back. Her voice started to choke as tears produced in the corner of her eyes, distorting her vision and turning Kristoff into a giant, black blur in front of her. Relief accompanied pain and terror after she stopped speaking, she had never felt so free yet constrained in her life.

"You love her? Like...?" He knew, he definitely knew, Anna was certain of that; now he was trying to make her say it all, pushing her buttons until she broke down.

And she did. "You know what I mean. When I called her name, yeah. I taste like strawberries – I mean, come on, Kristoff, you've kissed me enough times before to know that wasn't always there. If only you didn't have such a damned good sense of smell. And so maybe I do need help, so what?" Anna snarled, growing defensive in an effort to conceal her dismay. "At least she treats me she like the princess I am." _Right?_

"Hey, what I said earlier was just because I was angry. I don't think you need help."

"Wait, what?" Anna's head jerked back in astonishment. With the judgment and anger that graced his voice when before he walked out on her over a month ago, this was news to her.

"Look, it's kinda weird. Okay, it's really weird. But who cares if you're banging your sist—"

"We _are not doing that," _Anna huffed, puffing her cheeks out. "I never said that."

"Oh. That's actually a relief to hear," Kristoff said, scratching the back of his head.

"Why? Who says we won't?" Anna asked, crossing her arms. _Did I really just say that?_

"Uh, wow, okay. I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that."

"I'm sorry," Anna sighed, dropping her head down so that her chin was close to resting on her neck. "I just didn't expect you to be so, I don't know, supportive."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"No, but I don't get it. You should be mad. We practically broke up so I could be with my own sister. How are you not angry at me?" Anna was making things worse, but she didn't care; the only thing she did care about was understanding why he was so okay with the whole situation when she herself sometimes fell apart over it.

"If you're in love with her, you can't help that. Trust me, you can't help who you fall in love with," Kristoff said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Anna asked, sensing an insult veiled in his words.

"I grew up with trolls, and my best friend is a reindeer. I don't have any reason to judge anyone for who they choose to share their company with. Elsa is a beautiful woman, I can see what you see in her, and what she sees in you."

"Then why did you walk out on me when I yelled her name? Why did you leave me?"

"Like I said, I'm not stupid, I knew you were trying to push me away, sending me on all of those dumb chores all day. So when I finally got some time with you, and you yelled Elsa's name, of all names to yell, I sort of, I guess, snapped."

"You...snapped?" Anna decided to accept his answer; pressing his reasoning any further would only make matters far worse. "Okay, well, thanks for being so cool with this, I guess. Just please don't tell anyone anything, I have a feeling the rest of the castle isn't going to be as accepting as you are." Anna motioned her head towards the castle, which towered over the two like some threatening metaphor of awaiting doom.

"I just want you to be happy, Anna, if that means keeping this a secret, so be it."

"Wow, you're being so awesome about this whole thing." A little _too _awesome.

"All I ask if that you let Sven and I back into the kingdom. He misses Olaf," he smiled, his blond hair falling into his face in small strands.

"We never banished you or anything."

"It wasn't like I could just walk in after walking out on you like that," he shrugged.

"Okay, access granted." A rush of adrenaline surged through Anna's veins when she said that, it was rare for her to be able to utilize her royal authority when her sister was the one who dealt with a majority of the affairs.

"Great," Kristoff beamed. He turned around and stared up at the castle with a childlike wonder, it really had been a while since he's set foot in the kingdom. "Oh, and Anna?" he called out, still gazing up at the structure.

"Yeah?"

"You might wanna do something about the lipstick on your neck."

* * *

"Elsa," Anna sang, knocking knuckles lightly on the door frame to her elder sister's room. Remembering Kristoff's warning, she wet her fingers and rubbed it on the base of her neck where Elsa lingered on earlier, checking to make sure no attendants were watching while she erased any mark of her morning rendezvous with the queen. Waiting a beat without any response from Elsa, she hammered her hand on the door again. "Elsa, I know you're—"

"Anna," Elsa breathed, cutting Anna's developing song off as she pulled her doors open. "What is it?" Her gorgeous hair was half preened, sections of it presenting intricate care with wonderful patterns and precision, with other parts haphazardly pinned with stray hairs falling onto her face and neck. "I'm a bit busy here."

"Well, _clearly," _Anna crooned, reading Elsa's miffed face and yet choosing to ignore it. She side stepped into Elsa's room, which was littered with different outfits, in a rainbow of different shades of blue – on the floor, on the bed, on the shelves, in various degrees of lavishness and styles. Anna was aware that Elsa had a messy side of her that she concealed from the public, since she had such an eloquent reputation to live up to, and cherished the glimpses she experienced of the less-perfect side of Elsa. It made her feel less intimidated, if anything. "Not a lot of variety in your life, huh?" she asked, looking at the blue dresses that blanketed over her bed.

Of course Elsa preferred to dress herself and apply her own makeup, since she was so used to isolation and independence at such a young age, which added a level of secrecy to her life. Those who worked in the castle were as sheltered from Elsa's personal life as Anna was before, occasionally having access to Elsa's room to clean or deliver food, since Elsa eating in the dining hall was a fairly new occurrence in the castle. This resulted in Elsa being a private person who was quite possessive of her room, strongly disliking it when anyone tried to enter her room without her permission, so naturally she gave Anna a dirty look when she broke several unspoken rules by wandering in.

"I didn't tell you could come in," Elsa said, opening her door wide open in a hint for Anna to leave.

"And why not? I thought we were past this," Anna said, her voice gaining rigidness.

"Anna, please, I love you, but you know I'm busy today. I can't put everything aside for you, as much as I'd love to." Elsa started to clear things off her vanity in urgency, as if she were ashamed of the state her room was in.

"Lucky for you, I actually have something to tell you."

"Then tell me," Elsa begged, continuing to finish preparing her hair for whatever event she was scheduled to attend.

"It's about Kristoff," she stated bluntly, rubbing her shoes into Elsa's rug beneath her.

"What about him? Did you get rid of him?"

Anna had no incentive to ease into what they discussed, with time being such an important factor at the moment. Instead, she took in a sharp breath that settled in the bottom of her lungs, staring right at Elsa's teal eyes as she readied herself for the confession. "I told him."

"What?" The pin Elsa gripped between her fingers crashed onto the floor. Her eyebrows struck down, mouth gaping wide open in an expression that drew uneasiness into Anna.

"I mean, he smelled strawberries on you. And he tasted them on me, and he was like, 'hey, I know something's going on', so I just told him."

"You...you couldn't have just told him they were serving strawberries at the dining hall this morning? You—you told him?" Elsa shut the door to her room close without turning away from Anna, still in absolute shock.

"Oh. I guess I could have." That would have been a better explanation than what she gave, she realized. "Look, it felt good. And he's totally cool with it, he said something about growing up with trolls and Sven or something, I don't know, but he's cool with it. And I think, well, I think it means that other people will be okay with finding out. We don't have to hide it anymore," Anna theorized, shrugging.

"Anna, what's wrong with you?" _Ouch. _

Anna sunk her neck in defeat. "I just, I panicked. I thought you'd be happy." The tears were starting to come back, as hard as she tried to battle them off.

"Why would you even tell anyone? Oh God, he could tell everyone." Elsa gripped the sides of her head with her hands, completely undoing hours of hard work that went into beautifying her hair.

"He won't! I know he won't. And even if he does, who cares? No one's going to give it any second thoughts."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this, Anna. You really think people are going to be okay with this? Finding out that the princess and the queen, who are _sisters, _are doing this? Do you even realize the consequences of things anymore?"

_And you're one to talk? _Anna wanted so bad to spit those spiteful words, but restrained herself. "Well, then why can't we just, I don't know, run away together or something? I don't even know if you like being a queen, because I sure as hell don't love being a princess." Anna took another deep breath, not even bothering to filter the emotions that were finally being let out, the ones that remained caged in alleys of her heart the whole time. "I'm tired of living like this, Elsa. I'm tired of sneaking into the gardens with you and coming back with frozen arm hair, and a nose that drips like a faucet, and I'm tired of not being able to see you at all anymore at night for God knows whatever reason. I can't do this anymore. I love you so much, and yet all I am to you is your dirty little secret."

"You are _not!" _was the best Elsa was able to cry.

In a reflex, Anna held her own hands over her heart to protect it. "Then why can't we meet at night? Or go places together? We're sisters! We're supposed to be doing things together! People are probably getting suspicious that we're not!"

"Please, Anna, try to see this from my point of view." Elsa pleaded. She cupped her hand over her fist, pulling it into her body. Her face conveyed nothing but pure trepidation.

"I thought you learned to stop living in fear." Anna's voice broke the tension that suffocated the air.

Elsa's eyes were still fixed on Anna, but they were glazed over with deep thought, staring right through her body. She looked almost broken.

"The only person who's not okay with this is yourself. You have to get over this before you can move on anymore. _Please, _Elsa. I don't want to end this. I want you, I want you so bad. I'll do whatever it takes, but not this. Just not this. Don't make me choose."

* * *

**A/n**: _aren't we all a little strawberr_y

sorry for the sort of abrupt chapter ending but it will make sense

I swear

8)


	9. Don't Feel

Elsa's hands fluctuated between balling into a fist and relaxing. She was experiencing an internal battle that Anna was there to witness, manifesting itself in the insecurity in her eyes that looked past Anna, as though something more important were breathing down the princess' neck.

"_Elsa."_

Elsa's pupils darted to Anna's, still staying quiet. Whatever dilemma she was facing was consuming her entirely. Anna's heart beat grew faster in fearful anticipation that Elsa was seriously considering standing her ground and choosing to cut it off with Anna, rather than sacrifice her paranoia for the sake of their relationship.

_What have I done? I just killed the only good thing to ever happen to me. _Terror lodged itself into Anna's stomach, making her body run cold. "Please, I'm sorry, just don't leave me, I can't—"

"Shut up." Elsa's utterance grabbed Anna's words as they came out, biting them dead.

_"Excuse _me?"

"Just shut up."

The next few moments happened too abruptly for Anna to register immediately. She could feel her arm being gripped by strong warmth, her body twirling around under Elsa's grasp and the back of her head being forcefully shoved into the door. For a hot second, she feared she was being attacked by Elsa in a fit of uncharacteristic anger, but when her mind finally caught up to what was happening, she recognized the wanting breath that entered her gasping mouth and the pleasantly warm lips that pressed up against hers, with her new favorite taste, _strawberries._

Elsa was _kissing _her. Without persuasion from Anna, any apparent hesitation, or obligation to, she was kissing her with a vigor she's never shown before, in anything she's done.

Seizing the opportunity, Anna clamped Elsa's hips and pulled her as close as she could into hers, filling the small gap between their bodies. She so desperately wanted to pick up any indication that Elsa wanted what she did right now, pressing her lower body into Elsa to suppress the growing arousal that was starting to radiate throughout her entire being.

But when Anna felt the pressure of Elsa's fingertips on her waist, slithering their way to the front of her pelvis, she knew, and she knew by her small moans that escaped their joined lips, the lack of nervous shaking from Elsa, the way her tongue teased hers in a way she didn't think Elsa had the capacity to.

_Now or never._

Anna escaped Elsa's kiss, as much as she wanted it to last forever, and set her mouth's destination on her collarbone, sucking on the skin that stretched over it until it turned crimson. Elsa's head arched up as she did so, craning her body up as tall as it could be.

_Oh my God, this is really going to happen._

Anna looked up at Elsa, lost and awestruck and hands still curled around her older sister's body, who eventually returned the stare after a moment of no further contact from the princess. She wanted to say something, to voice her excitement, but as always, when her eyes were locked onto her beautiful sister's, she choked on her own words.

"Are we, I mean, do you—"

Elsa grabbed one of Anna's hands, lifting it below her dress and guiding it slowly to the center of her underwear until her fingers were resting on the front. Anna's hands had traveled there before, never really daring to push her fingertips more than a few hair widths in, and now that she had clearance to, she almost froze up. Elsa draped her arms around Anna's neck, joining them at the center of her back, and rested her chin on her shoulder, waiting for Anna to move forward. With a small nudge from Elsa, Anna timidly pushed her finger in, deep enough to feel a wetness grace the fabric that was between her and Elsa.

She was _wet. _Already. The sensation of the dampness was enough to swell Anna even more, her own body now begging for release. Another digit joined in, pressing in even further through Elsa's underwear, swirling around her until she edged out a moan from the queen, who buried her face into Anna's pumping shoulders.

"Oh God, Anna." Her voice hit Anna's ears like a cold breeze from behind.

_Fuck, that's hot._

Knock, knock.

_No. Not now. Any time but now._

Knock.

_Goddammit!_

"Oh God, who is it? What?" Elsa shouted in clear agitation as she pushed Anna away from her.

Anna stumbled back, barely catching herself before she tumbled down onto the rug. Elsa mouthed "I'm sorry" to her, but the way she clamped her own fists close to her and nervously slunk back told Anna she was more occupied with the sudden intruder.

"Queen Elsa, you are expected at the funeral in just two hours. Please do make yourself shown within the next five minutes, else you want to show up late. If you do require any assistance, do not hesitate to ask." Erik's refined inflection drilled through the door.

"I'll be out shortly, I promise," she responded, rushing over to her vanity to inspect her disheveled hair. "Dammit, there is no way I'll be able to fix this in time."

"I swear, it's like he knew. He freakin' knew, and is messing with us," Anna growled, running her hands over the hair on the back of her head that was standing up haphazardly. "I've never wanted to punch Erik before, but..." Anna glanced over at Elsa, who was staring at her a mix of guilt and longing adhered on her flushed face. She wanted to talk, but it was clear she was waiting for Anna to say something first.

"Do you—do you wanna talk about what just happened? Because I do. Like, I _really _do," Anna confessed, acknowledging the odd contortion on Elsa's face.

"Yes, I do. That was a seriously awful time for me to do that, I'm so sorry. I probably ruined it for you, didn't I?" Elsa said, her voice shaking with guilt.

"Ruined it? Those were some of the best few moments of my life. Like, God, you went for it, you went for _me, _and you kissed me—I mean, you've _never _kissed like that, and, I just, I want to know why? I thought you were about to attack me, you looked like you wanted to kill me."

Elsa nodded sheepishly and took a short pause before speaking. "I don't want to hold back anymore."

"Hold back?" That answered a lot of questions, yet left so many unanswered.

"Look, I gotta go. I'll see you tonight, okay? I'll probably be back really late – it's all the way in Levsi, but I'll try to leave early," Elsa said, making a few last touches to her hair to make it look at least presentable.

"Is it the—"

"No, it's his parents. I'm afraid the Duke is still alive and well," she smirked, still looking in the mirror.

"So, by tonight, do you mean in the garden, or..."

"Your room."

Anna tried her best to suppress the elation that was flourishing inside of her like a raging fire, but couldn't hold back the small squeak of happiness that escaped her pursed lips. Elsa hadn't entered her room in weeks. "What if someone sees us?" Anna knew she was only pressing the issue, but wanted to hear it directly from her older sister. She wanted to hear things were going to be different.

"That's okay." Anna was expecting a longer, more enthusiastic answer, but it sufficed.

Elsa rose from the small wooden chair, heading towards the doors before pausing momentarily to look at her sister, who was now beaming with joy. A look of adoration fell over her royal face. "I love you." She didn't even wait for Anna to return the affection, rushing out the door in haste and quietly closing the door as she exited after she spoke the words Anna never got tired of hearing.

"I love you, too," Anna said to no one with a bursting smile once she was completely alone in her room.

It didn't take long for Anna to realize this was the first time she was in Elsa's room in complete solidarity. She was able to take in all of the details she was never able to before – the smell, which was vaguely that of fresh pastries, intertwined with the floral aroma of her perfume, the view from the window, which displayed an exceptionally better scene of the kingdom than the one in Anna's room, and the half-empty bottle of perfume bottles that dotted along the back of her vanity. The essentials of her room were similar to Anna's, like the bed, the rug, the chairs, and the dresser, but glimpses of Elsa's personality shown through in the neatness and peculiarity of the way her bed was made, and the disorganization of the dresses that were strewn over it. Paintings of past queens hung on her wall like a reminder of those she had to live up, a burden Anna couldn't even begin to imagine, including an isolated portrait of their own mother, suspended in depressing immortality next to her bed.

Anna wandered over to her large vanity, which had hair pins scattered around its dark stained wood and small piles of books on either side, adjacent to the perfume bottles and cases of make-up that rested on its surface. Interested, Anna studied the books closer, which ranged from near perfect condition, to old and tattered, with patches of the cover completely bare of its leather casing. She remembered seeing Elsa carrying similar books around with her during their childhood, in the rare moments Elsa emerged from her room, to study, to eat, or whatever would summon her from her chambers. When Anna peeked through Elsa's keyhole in the rather curious moments she had, she'd sometimes see young Elsa hunched over her writing desk, scribbling away into these books, biting her tongue as though her entire concentration was focused into whatever she was writing. These were her diaries, of course, a connection she didn't make until this very moment.

In an adrenaline-fueled beat, Anna snatched up the newest looking diary, darting her eyes to the door to assure no one was going to enter; surely Elsa had already left the castle by now. As if by pure serendipity, she heard the royal horses trot away outside, which was enough confirmation for her that she was safe as she flipped open the book, her heart pounding. She was breaching her sister's trust for the sake of her own curiosity. She held her head up, staring into nothing as she gripped the now open diary in front of her body.

_Okay, as long as she doesn't find out, it's okay, right? _Her weak justification was enough for her to rationalize what she was about to do, turning her hands slowly as the page she opened of Elsa's newest diary revealed itself to her. Elsa's handwriting was large yet eloquent, edging on the point of being too stylized for Anna to make out.

_September 5__th__,_

_ I never noticed before that people take "testing bites" out of fruit at the market before making a purchase. I'm not entirely sure if this is only native to Arendelle, only that I enjoy watching the expressions of the farmers when they discover their fruit had been "tested" when they weren't paying close attention._

_ Anyway, I was involved in a meeting today with the ambassadors of all kingdoms within a thirty kilometer radius to discuss trade barriers. It was difficult for me to pay attention when the ambassador of Vestfold had a piece of snot hanging from his nose like a sleeping bat that swayed when he took one of his long-winded, whistling breaths. Don't know if the others noticed my attempts to hide my giggling._

_ No negotiation was reached._

This side of Elsa was almost entirely foreign to Anna, but she loved it. She held her hand over her mouth as she chuckled at Elsa's observations, scanning the page even further, until her eyes were captured by her own name.

_ Anna and Kristoff weren't at dinner tonight, which was peculiar as tonight the castle was serving her favorite dish, grilled salmon. My heart aches at the thought of what they were doing, since the promise of her presence is the only thing to keep me going. _

Anna checked the date of the entry. _September 7__th__, _over four months ago. She hastily flipped through the pages to the most recent entry, her curiosity now peaked at how Elsa portrayed her in her diary.

_January 13__th,_

_ Started off the cold morning in the garden with Anna, as per usual. I can still taste the chocolate on the front of my teeth from when her teeth knocked with mine when we tried to kiss each other at the same time. She's so awkward sometimes, and yet I'm the one who always blushing like a fool._

_ A guard outside the gardens coughed quite loudly, and startled poor Anna. She looks like a scared squirrel when she's startled, with her wide eyes and bared teeth. It's almost intolerably adorable. I didn't even think it was possible, but I fall in love with her more every day._

A relaxing wave of warmth washed over Anna as she read the praising words that graced these pages. She wished Elsa had the bravery and confidence to say things like that to her face. The entry was dated two days ago, which Anna recalled as being a particularly cold day. Anna grew even more interested in the older entries, however, her mind still stuck on how her presence was the only thing to "keep her going." Anna flicked the pages back once more, landing on a page from October, almost three months ago – more than a month before Anna first kissed Elsa.

_She's my sister. I can't ever admit these feelings that have been consuming my soul lately like a terrible disease. She's my sister. I can't lie to myself anymore. I'm not confused. I know what I'm feeling. She's my sister. My younger sister. The girl I was sworn to protect. I'm sick. I need help._

* * *

**A/N**: More abrupt endings! Yay. Sorry. :c But I swear the next few chapters are going to be intense.

Also sorry for the smut tease lolol it will come I promise you. IM SORRY IM SUCH A TEASE


	10. Split The Ice Apart

The words were right there on the page, yet Anna had a hard time reading them. She never even considered the idea that Elsa's forbidden infatuation for her began earlier than she thought. An urge came over her to dwell into the diary further, to uncover more secrets Elsa was hiding, but instead she tossed the book onto the vanity as though it suddenly turned to hot coals, reeling her hands into her body. She became afraid of discovering anything more that would upset her; she was okay with living in blissful ignorance, she attempted to convince herself. _It's wrong to read any more of the diary. She loves me and that's all that matters._

Yet what Elsa wrote in her diary looped in her head in endless torture. _I'm not confused. I know what I'm feeling. _It elated Anna, yet sickened her. What if Elsa still felt such self-deprecation over her love for Anna? Anna left her sister's room, too preoccupied to check if she was clear. A storm of emotions was brewing inside of her, neither of them strong enough to overcome the other. Even moreso, the fact that the two siblings _almost did it _before they were so rudely interrupted was enough reason to keep Anna's heart racing and her body frustrated with lingering fervor, now that there was confirmation that Elsa was finally prepared for it after weeks of restraint.

Elsa couldn't return home soon enough.

* * *

The sun had already began to tuck itself into the side of the earth, ushering in the premature night sky as dusk settled over the land, and, just as Anna's luck would promise, Elsa was still gone. Of course she told her she'd be back "really late", but with the vagueness of the statement, Anna was hoping for her return at late evening, at least. She tried her best to find little things to entertain her throughout the day – hiding pastries around the castle as small surprises for the workers, counting the number of crows that lurched on the dead trees outside – but nothing kept her mind off the diary she found, which abducted her mind like an invasive military. Questions accumulated in her head as the day grew older. _Why was it out on the vanity? Wouldn't Elsa be afraid of someone walking in and finding it? What did the older ones say?, _and the one that disturbed her the most, _when did she start feeling this way about me?_

Anna couldn't restrain herself. She stalked over to Elsa's room, her mind not burdened with guilt anymore. The diary was still there, right where she tossed it in a moment of panic, its presence tantalizing her to read it further. Her mind was too occupied with anxieties over what secrets it contained for morality to win the battle, snatching up the book and racing back into her own room, hiding it under her dress in the chance that someone would witness her leaving Elsa's room with it in her possession.

_I made it._

Shutting the doors behind her, she gripped the diary as if it were a priceless, fragile item. All the answers she wanted, or at least most of them, were held in this tiny little bundle of papers. She locked her door, carefully as to not let the sound of the locking mechanism make too much of a noise and draw attention, and walked over to her bed, which now seemed as if it were a mile away.

She reached her bed, plopping onto it without regard for being quiet or secretive. She didn't even hesitate this time, opening the book quickly with abandon of all remorse and immediately reading the contents on the first page it opened to.

_September 29__th__,_

_ I know I'm supposed to be protective of my sister, but I grow physically uncomfortable when I'm not near her. It's not a protective instinct, I'm certain of that, it's a longing I can't explain. A longing I didn't even know existed until she was re-introduced into my life. I despise Kristoff for filling the hole in her heart I created during our childhood. When he says her name, his voice doesn't carry like mine does. He doesn't know her like I do._

_ And now, all I can find myself doing is writing and thinking about her and I can't figure out why. She's a parasitic enigma. Granted, I haven't been acquainted with many people in my life, but I've never had someone drive me to madness like this. I'm starting to worry it's not normal for a sister to feel this way about her own younger sibling._

The pieces were starting to fit into place. Anna's hands grew so sweaty that the fresh leather of the book started to lose friction between her finger, yet she hastily turned to a newer entry, her attention now entirely focused on Elsa's writings. She _needed _confirmation that Elsa's affections had a longer history. She needed to know that her borderline-obsessive love for Elsa was mutual, not a one-sided desperation as she feared it was. These entries were like love notes she was never meant to see.

_October 11__th,_

_ I feel uncomfortable with just the thought of writing about this, but I promised myself I'd document everything major that's happened in my mostly uneventful life. So, diary, I ask that you retain your status as being an inanimate, unconscious object, and not judge me for what I'm about to write._

_ I've always been curious about female anatomy, specifically my own, and although medical textbooks and illustrations could teach me the mechanics of it, I've never had any experiences myself. I've tried 'exploring' myself a few times as a teenager, yet normally grew tired after hours of going seemingly nowhere. Tonight something weird happened._

_ I tried it again, after years of abstaining. I tried it because I noticed the feelings of what I can at least recognize as sexual arousal have been returning, and I'm afraid I know the reason why. I won't write the reason, since I'm sure that you, despite being merely a diary, already know the answer._

_ This time, it felt good. _

Anna's vision clouded as she read the entry. Her yearning for relief was already still lingering from her earlier encounter with Elsa, and now, with her brain processing the sentences Elsa wrote, it grew to such a distracting pining for release that she crossed her legs in a pathetic bid to quell the urge.

_A few minutes after I started 'exploring' myself again, I experienced a dramatic feeling of ecstasy I had never experienced before. I know from my readings that it was an orgasm. And I know that the only thing that brought me to this climax was the thought of her, with her name on my lips the whole time. I felt immediate shame after I finished, and guilt washes over me as these words leave my pen, but the thought of denying what happened is even more disgraceful._

_ I'd do it all again, and I think I will._

Anna dropped the diary on the floor. _Oh my God. Breathe, compose, repose. _She took a few quick inhales, but nothing calmed her down. She wrote this. _Elsa got off to the thought of her._ This was not one of her naughty little fantasies she tried to shoo away in the late hours of the night. Her entire body was vibrating with shock – no, it was something else.

Her eagerness to satisfy the swelling in her lower body became too much for her to handle, already grinding herself into the bed. Her hands quaked next to her as she decided to give into her primal urge and satisfy herself.

Heart beating brisk in her chest, she slipped her hand under the band of her underwear, gliding a finger directly into herself with guidance from her wet releases, instantly feeling herself teeter over the edge of normalcy and ecstasy as soon as her palm hit her sweet spot. Relinquishing her control over her movements, reflexes kicked in as her body rocked into her hand, pumping a finger inside her, thoughts switching between Elsa's diary entry and the confrontation they had earlier in the day, both edging her closer and closer to a finish. Fingers dug into the bed to keep her from falling off as her rocking gained intensity, her head arcing back while she felt a pleasure she never felt before, not with Kristoff, not by herself. Already within a few moments, heavy with strained breaths and her body jerking into her hand impulsively, she recognized the feeling of pending relief flowering in her core.

With the image of Elsa firmly planted in her head, alone in her room, touching herself with Anna's name escaping her beautiful lips in successful moans, Anna pushed herself down into the bed with her hand fastened between her clenched thighs, bracing herself for release.

"Ah, _fuck!"_ Her breathy exclamation bounded off the high walls as a climax of all things blissful tore through, her body convulsing with waves of sexual euphoria. Her orgasm pulled her down into the bed, thighs tightly wrapped around her arm while she came, almost passing out from the sheer pleasure.

After almost a minute of recollecting herself back into reality, she lay on the bed, regaining breaths into a rhythm more manageable and less labored.

_I just got off to the thought of Elsa getting off to me, like some crazy cycle. _She held back on giving herself any release or satisfaction for the past month, feeling as though she would betray Elsa or something—her conscious somehow shamed her into thinking that giving into her urges would make her feel guilty, but with affirmation that Elsa herself had done it before, she had no reason to restrain herself anymore. She was free to do what she wanted to for so long, when she lay in bed during the sleeps that wouldn't come.

And she'd do it all again.

* * *

"What? Delayed?" Anna stared at Erik, her eyes blurred from sleep.

She had passed out on her bed in a post-orgasm coma, dozing off long enough that the sky was pitch black and the sounds of nocturnal animals and insects buffered around the kingdom. If Erik hadn't knocked before he entered, he may have witnessed the princess slumbering with the waistband of her underwear slicked down a few inches and her fingers still soaked with her own fluids. _I have to be way more careful._

"Yes, she is expected to return home in four days, minimum."

"Wait, what? Why? What happened to her?" Anna's eyes were sore from tiredness, but she was now on full alert.

"That I do not know, I was just told that last-minute arrangements had been made on her behalf. That's as far as my knowledge of this situation extends." Erik's calm composure somehow made this worse.

"What did you do with her? Are—are you going to kill her?" Anna asked in sheer panic. It was a terrible conclusion to jump to, she realized, but she had never felt such distress.

"As I said, Anna, she will return eventually. I'm assuming alive."

"What are you doing with her?" Anna clumsily stood from her bed, sheets gutted from the physical intensity of her earlier romp with herself, body tense and fists ready, as though she were expecting to fight Erik. She was already still furious at him for intruding on her and Elsa earlier. "What are you guys doing with my gi—sister?" _Oh, crap. Did I almost say girlfriend?_

"I'm not doing anything with her. All I do know is that she's not returning tonight. I'd love to stay and discuss this with you further, but I have to go now." Yet the pitch of his voice and apathy on his face said otherwise.

"Go where? You work for me! And I—I _demand _you stay here and tell me what's going on!" Anna shouted, pointing to the floor with her trembling hand.

"Goodbye, Anna," Erik said, departing from the shaken woman's room.

Although Erik had a reputation of being a serious castle worker, Anna had never seen him so boorish and stoic, showing barely any worry towards Elsa's sudden disappearance despite claiming to not know any of the details. This was not a coincidence, Anna speculated, that the day someone outside the two sisters learned about their secret was the day that Elsa mysteriously had "last-minute arrangements" pop up. Anna grew fearful that these arrangements involved removing Anna from the castle, imprisoning Elsa for perversions, or even executing her, as morbid as the thought was.

_Kristoff. That bastard. _He told someone, didn't he? She hadn't seen him since she granted him access into the kingdom again. He was probably in secret meetings with everyone, informing them of the confidential relationship she had with Elsa. She should have never trusted him–right? She needed to go confront him, give him a piece of her mind, and get the truth out of him. It was all his doing, she assured herself. She can't trust men, not again.

Yet, Anna stood there alone, exhausted and still in a battle-ready stance, with her heart completely broken. She finally had something she genuinely loved—Elsa—and now she was threatened to be taken away from her, or even worse, in danger, and all she could do was stand there in complete hopelessness. The pessimistic scenarios that assembled in her head of what they were doing with Elsa drew tears from her eyes. All she wanted was to see Elsa again, to hold her, to tell her how much she loved her, even just hear her breathe while she sat next to her, or feel her heartbeat in her fingertips when she hugged her close. Even if she wasn't in any immediate risk, four days was too long for Anna to stand without her.

She needed her. And now she was afraid she'd never get to tell her that.

* * *

**A/N**: so uhm YEAH? That wasn't the smut I was teasing about, trust me, I know what you guys want. Or I think I do at least. I HOPE. But I won't say too much. :)

And no character deaths, don't worry! I would put a warning if there were.


	11. Empty Rooms

**A/N**: I apologize for the late update, work and stuff. The norm. :(

* * *

Of all of the several rooms and areas the large castle had to offer, the stables was one of Anna's personal favorites. Living in complete separation from her peers, she found comfort in confiding in the animals of the kingdom, who were free from judgment or the ability to shut her out. She'd spend hours in the warmer days of Arendelle, sitting next to the stables and talking to the horses about her life as an isolated princess, feeding them and tending to them, which with the amount of staff that was reduced around the kingdom, was something her late parents actively encouraged. Her favorite horse when she was adolescent was a softhearted, cream white stallion named Busby, whose muscular frame and soft nuzzle always provided a comfortable resting place for the young princess in the hot summer nights she dozed off in the stables. Now, the stables were almost completely empty, most of the horses being sheltered in a newer stable that was constructed outside the castle. The abandonment of the stable brought in a depressing level of wear and tear, the once pearl-white paint on the walls peeling off in small fingers, the saddles and reigns now settled on with a thick layer of decayed dust.

When she entered the stables with the intentions of finding Kristoff after searching the other areas of the kingdom with no success, a surge of memories clinched her heart. She remembered every stable, every piece of wood, every stain on the floor and the story behind it. It had been years since she'd set foot in the stables, since Busby passed away. His saddle still hung on the wall on the farthest side of the stables, the intricate design work on the black leather staying forever eternal in the kingdom in memory of the finest horse it ever had. Anna was not prepared for the rush of emotions that overcame her, having almost forgotten about her past horse comrade who made her feel safe in the days she didn't want to face during her reclusive youth.

The stable was lit up dramatically with a single light source, a lantern that recessed next to Kristoff, bestowing shadows on the walls that danced as the flames flickered. Kristoff lazed on one of the cushioned benches at the far end, holding a carrot out to the last stable, adjacent to Busby's former home. Sven's muzzle reached out from the open window, taking out almost half of the vegetable with his large teeth. The two looked as relaxed and settled as possible, a smile of contentment spread on the man's face, with his sodden boots kicked up casually onto the green cushion of the bench.

"Kristoff." Anna's tone was quiet and distracted, her mind focused on the pleasures and the pains of the past, a past she wish she could forget, a past she wished she could change and alter until it stopped hurting.

She wasn't sure if she truly believed he had something to do with Elsa's unforeseen abduction, or if she just wanted someone to blame, but the way he took everything so well was not a way any sane person would react when finding out their own significant other was in love with their sibling. He had no motive, other than separating them for his own personal gain, but nothing else made sense. She was scratching for any trace of an answer she could get for the mess her life was becoming, even if it meant searching in the most ridiculous corners.

"What? Who—Anna?" Kristoff sat up from his bench in haste, as though he were caught doing something unlawful. Sven's head peeked out from the stable, staring at the lethargic princess as she approached the two. "I'm just, uh, hanging out here with Sven. We're—we're allowed to use these stables, right? Because I didn't want the poor guy to freeze out in the cold."

Sven nodded along with Kristoff's explanation and looked up at Anna with pleading eyes.

"Fine, whatever. I don't care. I'm—" Anna tried her best to look away from Busby's stable, which still had his name painted on the top in gorgeous gold calligraphy. "I just—" _What am I even supposed to say? That I think you ratted us out? That I can't trust you? That I'm going to kick you out again because I was stupid enough to believe you?_

"Is...is everything..."

"Why did you tell? Why did you go behind my back and tell someone?' Anna's shoulders fell as she begged an answer out of Kristoff, her face falling to defeat. "Why would you want to take away something I love from me?" Her voice lost its stability, shaking around as she spoke with the promise of a sob forming in her throat.

"What are you even talking about?" Kristoff asked, standing from the bench.

"Elsa's gone, for 'last-minute arrangements.' For a really long time, and it's not a coincidence, Kristoff. I know you had something to do with this. You told someone about her and I, didn't you? They're separating here from me, and I'm going to be executed, probably sometime tomorrow, or I'm going to be imprisoned, or tried, or who even knows, but they know. I _know _they know, and they don't know I know, and I know—"

"Anna." Kristoff placed a glove-sheltered finger over the frantic woman's mouth.

"Don't you shush _me_," she huffed, grabbing his massive hand with her own dainty ones, pulling them off her face.

"Are you telling me that Elsa's in danger? Wait, why are you coming to me when clearly you should be out trying to figure out what the hell is happening to Elsa?" Kristoff said, panicked, with Sven nodding along rapidly.

"Because—you would know, you told someone—"

"Why would I tell someone? And how would I have done that in, what, eight hours? Anna, I have nothing to do with this, but you know what, I'm not even sure if it's worth convincing you if you already believe I'd betray you like that."

Kristoff's inflection scolded Anna into something close to guilt, his glare locked so tight on her eyes, she was almost too scared to move any muscle. "Then why is she gone?" Her words came out soaked with desperation rather than accusation, her neck slinking into her body.

"How am I supposed to know? I literally just got here this morning. All I've done since I got here is just hang out here and nap because I'm exhausted as all hell trekking around these mountains for the past two months. When did she even leave? Where was she going?"

"I don't know, this evening? She was going to some dumb funeral, and Erik was like, 'she's going to be gone for at least four days,'" she started, her voice changing infliction to mock Erik's overly-proper articulation, "and he wouldn't tell me anything else. But I mean, the day you come back—"

"I'm going to find her."

"Wait, what?" Anna's ramble faced an abrupt cessation after Kristoff spoke, her body stiffening when his voice hit her ears.

"Just stay back here, where did you say she was going?" Kristoff asked, readying his supplies from a burlap sack that drooped from the hook it hung on. Anna knew that flat voice, that glimpse of determination in his eyes that gazed off into the distance, the dropped shoulders. The danger-seeking side of Kristoff was not a part of him she was ever able to tame, but it wasn't a side she minded too much, either. It brought excitement to their short-lived relationship that otherwise bored her.

"Lev...si?'

Kristoff draped himself over Sven, who also took on his own version of a tenacious pose, his shoulders hunched back and his legs spread apart as the most intimidating face that he could muster established on his dopey face.

"Just stay at the castle in case anything more happens. I have a feeling this isn't going to be an isolated incident." Sven trotted up the center aisle of the stable, dust clouds forming below him that blanketed the entire floor in a gray fog.

Anna was too astonished and perplexed to even speak, watching in mute awe as the two galloped out of the stable, specks of dust getting caught in her throat and forcing coughs out of her. _Did I just let him escape? _She wasn't even certain of what her own beliefs were now. Either she just let him escape in one of the most effortless attempts in history, or Kristoff really _was _innocent, and there was now at least a small sliver of chance that Elsa was going to be safe from whatever danger she was experiencing.

Anna wandered over to Busby's stall, tracing the hardened, chipped paint with her calloused fingertips, which were so cold that her nerves temporarily lost function, but she could still feel the raise of the paint on the wall. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want to laugh. She didn't want to do anything that even remotely portrayed any emotion; she wasn't even certain of what knew anymore, her head murky with anxiety and heartache. She wanted her life back. She wanted Elsa back. She wanted to know she could trust again, with the dust Sven's hooves kicked up still lingering above the floor in a bittersweet reminder of the last man she trusted and the quest he was about to embark on, whether it was to rescue Elsa or abandon the castle in a successful escape Anna so foolishly let him have.

Ambling over to the old hay that piled in the stable, she collapsed down onto the stack of hay needles, as though her increasingly heavy heart finally brought her down. Anna couldn't even sleep, nor did she have any desire to. Perched on the uncomfortable mountain of hay, she released a sigh that stagnated in her chest, Kristoff's lantern still propped on the floor feet away and illuminating Busby's stall.

And for the next few hours, she stayed there in sheer defeat, wondering with great hurt why everything she loved vanished from her.

* * *

Days passed, and, as promised by Erik, were barren of Elsa's presence. Kristoff's lack of return was concerning for Anna, as well, as it meant he was either unsuccessful in his crusade to find her, or he was guilty, and she so ignorantly granted him liberation from the castle. Every time she saw a guard or even a servant, her chest was arrested with horror in fear that they would grab her away and lock her up in the cells they recently rebuilt – now with strengthened security and guard activity, ensuring any captive was to rot into oblivion and insanity in its dark, damp depths. Despite her rationalized worries, however, no castle worker ever gave her more attention than she was used to, which consisted of bowing to her and greeting her in the most courteous manner possible, avoiding answering her when she asked them about Elsa's whereabouts. She jumped every time she heard a noise outside her doors, and scrambled to the nearest window whenever the trots of horses dotted the horizon in hopes it was Elsa. Anna had devised new mechanics to distract her mind from the chaos that swarmed her heart, counting the buttons on the shirts in the portraits that arrayed the halls, memorizing the names of all the former kings of Arendelle (she had proudly memorized their names all the way back to the 17th century), the sort of devices she used as a child. Despite her mildly successful distraction techniques, her stomach was too knotted for her to digest anything. She'd occasionally consume a morsel of food in the brief, hazy moments she'd almost forget about Elsa, but it always immediately followed with refusal of any more when something reminded Anna of her, be it a cold breeze permeating through the doors, or the smell of strawberries wafting in from the kitchen.

She slept for a majority of the Elsa-less days, finding more solace in the dreams that tainted her slumber than the lonely reality she was forced into. At least in her dreams, Elsa was present, even if she had no face or no voice, and would disappear as soon as her fingers tried to grasp onto her to confirm she was at least tangible. She'd awaken to a drool-stain on her pillow, her room empty except for her lonesome being, with the status of the sun outside either confirming or crushing her hopes that the next day had arrived. Elsa's diary sat on Anna's nightstand, and although it was hard to ignore the darkness of the leather that encased it against the brilliant white of her furniture, she couldn't stand the idea of opening it again. If Elsa really were gone, her written words would inflict a pain on Anna she wasn't ready for. Even just the memory of what Elsa wrote, her handwriting floating in the back of Anna's brain in cursed black ink, sunk her down even further, worried she may never hear Elsa say she loved her again with her own ears, only read her affections in the written text that sat on her bedside. And yet, she couldn't find any strength to take Elsa's diary back to her room, finding a strange comfort in its presence, its smell – strawberries and perfume, with a hint of new leather hide – which lulled Anna's dreams into the ones where Elsa was there for her, once again.

* * *

Anna lounged on one of the benches in the hallway, fingers grasping the goldenrod ropes the hung from the tall purple curtains, twirling the decoration around her knuckles in a bored fret.

_Day five._

It was dinner time. She could tell by the aroma of savory meats and fresh breads that seeped from the dining hall nearby, assaulting her nose from under the doors.

_Five nights._

Her chest was caving in as the number five danced around in her head. _At least four, he said. _It's been at least four. It's been _five._

_ Five._

She almost tore the curtains down from the window. The entire day had been spent with anxiety gripping her at every corner, amplified from the days prior which were already too difficult for her to survive without crying herself to sleep.

_This is ridiculous. You're an adult. She's fine. Get over it._

But her lip quivered, the number growing bolder in her mind. Elsa had been gone for almost a week. She crossed her legs, fingers tapping on the cushion beneath her. She had been here for at least an hour, expecting to be summoned into the dining hall any moment now, only so she could politely refuse the feast they had prepared, as she had for the past four nights. Her stomach growled continuously throughout the past few days, like a hungry predator inside that was threatening her for nourishment, but she ignored it, her mind overpowering her bodily needs at this point in her despair.

And so when she heard the whispers from the other side of the door, from a deep masculine voice, her stomach shushed itself. Her anxiety ceased. Her spirits lifted into the heavens above, high enough to reach her parents.

"...Well, Elsa _is _returning tonight, so set a table for..."

She's back. _She's back. _She's okay. Anna held her balled up hands to her mouth to subdue the squeals of joy that were close to filtering through her clenched mouth, pinned close with her own teeth. Her body lifted up from the couch from the happiness and relief that ascended up her core, shaking like an excited little animal. _She's back. _

She's back, and she's well enough to eat in the dining hall. She's not being imprisoned, she's not being executed or excommunicated, or cast away from the kingdom. Elsa was safe, and so was Anna. Anna couldn't wait to confront her sister again, pestering her with the hoards of questions she had about her travels and her whereabouts; no doubt she had several tales about whatever arrangements were made in her name. Anna's arms craved to feel Elsa's body in them, she craved to feel her warmth against hers once again. She was finally going to be able to hold her again, to kiss her, to smell her, to hear her breathe—

"How could you forget to set one for our visitor? You imbecile! You've known about this for days!"

_Visitor?_

"Set one for the prince! Right next to the queen's! How dense can you be?"

_Prince?_

* * *

**A/N**: sorry if this is kind of a "filler" chapter, but it's more just preparation into a huuugee story arc I have planned that I'm super excited about! Don't worry, though, this _is _an Elsanna fic, I have not forgotten about that. ;) That's all I'll say.


	12. We Know Better

Anna froze. Her mind lagged behind the chatter she heard, trying to make sense of it. A _prince. Someone who could marry a queen to become a king. A prince._

_ Competition._

Her anxiety came back so fast, it knocked the breath out of her, gasping for air in desperate efforts to stay standing. Elsa was hers. _Hers._

She struggled hard to perceive a situation less threatening. Maybe he was an estranged friend Elsa somehow met in the past six months, or a penpal she made as a kid, who decided to come visit in the most inconvenient time possible in both sister's lives. Thinking about such a possibility of platonic rekindling helped shoo away the apprehensive breaths that clutched Anna for a short, carefree moment.

Still, with a small conception of fear hidden in her, she hitched the sides of her vert dress up between her fingers and rushed over to the main doors of the castle, pausing in front of them with exhausted breaths. The dinner feast was due to start any minute now; Elsa would arrive soon. Anna's heart almost took flight out of its skeletal cage, watching the doors with acute anticipation for them to open.

_Just open._

The hands on the grandfather clock that towered next to the doors slowed, and the ticks grew louder, thumping into her brain like an ice pick.

She stood there in a maddening prospect that Elsa would enter any moment, eyes trained on the doors like a watch dog. She _could _go out and wait for Elsa outside, but the wintry weather overwhelmed her. She didn't want to feel the sting of the cold – not again.

The hand on the clock moved from the five to half-way past the six before she started hearing commotion on the other side of the door. The front doors opened, a royal attendant holding onto each handle as they brought the monumental doors inwards towards the hallway. Disoriented by the bright lantern a servant held in front that shone directly into Anna's eyes, she stumbled back to restore her vision, holding her hand up over her eyes as a makeshift visor.

There she was, skin as lustrous as it was in Anna's dreams, adorned with her heartening smile and eyes so deep they competed with the oceans. Elsa's navy, strapless dress folded in accordion waves down to the floor, trailing behind her like a saturated cloud of smoke, and her luminescent hair, with each strand braided wildly, cascaded down to her breasts in intricate weaves.

And _him, _the so-called prince, sporting an obnoxious white outfit decked with yellow and purple trims around the hems and collar, strawberry blond hair slicked back on his heart-shaped head, a mess of styles clashing into one being that followed her older sister behind with an enthused strut. The way he checked out Elsa's figure when he was behind her, the proud posture he adopted, the confident smirk on his _stupid, handsome _face – there was nothing platonic about this 'arrangement.'

When Elsa's gaze fell on her younger sister, who stared at the duo with her jaw hinged open and her eyes laced with betrayal, she jogged up to her, without any consideration that she was stepping onto her otherwise spotless dress with her boots.

"Anna," Elsa cried, grabbing Anna's arms. Her expression was flooded with concern, gripping Anna's forearms tightly in her fingers. "Anna, I'm so—"

"What's he doing here? Who—who even is he?" A lone tear streamed down Anna's face, who tried so hard to restrain others from escaping out her tear ducts that her head grew dizzy.

"A lot, I mean a _lot, _has happened, and—"

"And don't even touch me," Anna demanded, jerking her arms away from the queen who reciprocated with a look of heartbreak on her delicate face. Although she longed for the feeling of Elsa's warmth against her flesh, she couldn't stand to have it accompanied by a feeling of such disloyalty.

Elsa held her shivering hands up to her clavicle, her face tinging red. "It's not what you think, I promise you. Anna, they want me to find a king. They—they demanded I find someone to marry." Her voice descended into a whisper, looking back at the prince who idly swayed in the middle of the hall, studying the decorations that garnished the hall.

"They? Who even is 'they?'" A cache of questions and pleads surged to the poor princess, her body starting to cower.

"I don't know, my driver and attendant informed me there were orders that a prince would be found for me. They took me to all of these insufferable villages around the area, where I was courted by a bunch of snooty, handsy men who I'm embarrassed to say were royalty." By now, Elsa's hands had relaxed at her side, swinging next to the body that Anna sorely missed to hold. "And this guy is no exception."

_Handsy? _The jealousy already snarling inside Anna grew even more harmful, a sharp pain manifesting in her stomach. Her urge to cry, however, subsided once she heard the relieving news that Elsa had little emotional or physical interest in the intruding prince. "So, who is this charmer?" she asked, ignoring the torment pulsing through her gut.

"Prince Kasper of Maleville." Elsa recited his name with an eye-roll, over-enunciating his title.

"The village that smells like old milk?"

"That's the one."

"So, are you going to...I mean, is he your new king?" Anna softly asked, dreading the answer. She examined Elsa's face with great earnest, head growing hot with anxiety.

"No. I'm doing this to humor them, it's a long story, I—"

"Queen Elsa, would it be rude of me to ask for an introduction?" the prince inquired, his hands clamped behind his back. His macho voice, already starting to irritate Anna, carried over to the two sisters, fracturing their quiet conversation.

"Oh, Prince Kasper, this is my younger sister, Princess Anna," Elsa announced, twirling around and holding a hand out in a polite point towards Anna, who stared at Elsa's hand as if it were a threat.

"Well, it's good to know that the good looks run in the family," Kasper smirked, approaching the princess and offering her a bow.

_Kiss-ass. _"It's, a pleasure to meet you, I guess." Anna ever-so-slightly flinched away from the man, strands of his hair falling in front of his face as he presented her with the polite gesture.

"Trust me, the pleasure is all mine," he grinned. "Your sister is quite the woman, if I may say so myself."

_No, you may not._

Anna scowled at the prince, teetering on the brink of delivering a warning growl to him, the smile remaining on the oblivious man's face.

"Well, shall we all gather for dinner?" Elsa suggested with an uneasy laugh, fingers steepled together.

* * *

Once again, Anna's food remained untouched, although this time she stirred the meal on her plate enough that it looked like she consumed at least some of it. Elsa sat in her throne, which she had moved specifically to a location where she could sit across from her sister, choosing to refrain from eating more than a few forkfuls of the lamb and cabbage that resided on her plate. The only person in the room who was eating the dinner was Kasper, who slurped his soup, and had his napkin crumpled in a haphazard pile on the table instead of on his lap, a quirk Anna knew irked Elsa greatly. The air was ripe with uncomfortable silence, only occasionally ruptured by the dings of silverware against plates or an exasperated sigh from Anna. Kasper's gaze switched between Elsa and Anna, who were staring into each other's eyes as though they forgot Elsa's alleged suitor was seated right next to her.

Anna's questions that faltered still in her brain remained unanswered, but the longing look her sister gave her alleviated the pain. Just looking at Elsa mollified her in a way nothing else was able to, almost undoing a week's worth of panic and hysterics. When the prince's focus transferred from the girls to his food, Anna took advantage of the quick, unsupervised moment to mouth "I missed you so much" to Elsa from across the table.

"I missed you, too," Elsa said out loud, her supple lips barely parting. _Oh my God, she said it out loud. I didn't even say it loud. _

"Hmm?" the prince grumbled, looking up from his soup where his body was hunched over, drops of the brew spilling onto the red place mat below him.

"Anna said she missed me, but she said it so quietly that I don't think you heard it over your incessant slurping." Elsa's tone was rather effervescent for a sentence meshed with such insult. Anna had never seen _this _Elsa before, involuntarily cocking her head up in awe.

"Oh." Kasper didn't appear to take in Elsa's contempt, resuming his eating. "You know," he started, his mouth still full of soup, "it's great that you two are so close. I'm an only child. I mean, I had a brother, I think, when I was a kid, but he passed away. Or that's what my parents told me. I didn't really see them much, either."

_What an idiot. _Anna felt better as each moment passed, quickly realizing how little competition she faced with the buffoon. "Yeah, our parents are dead." _And yet, I still can't stop myself from saying stupid things. _She shoveled a huge chunk of food into her mouth in an effort to silence herself.

"Dead?" he asked, putting his spoon down to speak.

"Yes, our parents were lost at sea almost four years ago," Elsa said, looking at Anna with slight judgment over her outburst.

"I mean, it's kinda why she's queen," Anna continued, without regards the food in her mouth that muffled her voice. "Oh, but it's very sad. I miss them a lot." Anna attempted to recover from her insensitive utterance upon catching sight of Elsa's expression.

"That makes sense, I mean, that it's why she's queen," he shrugged, picking his utensil back up and finishing off his tepid soup.

Anna turned her head to Elsa, shaking it with a chortle at the man's incompetence These conversations were going nowhere. "So, uh, do you two have any plans tonight?"

_ "_Kasper requested a tour of the castle. He seemed very adamant about it," Elsa announced, sneering over to him.

"I did. I requested to come over to Arendelle to see your kingdom and your famous castle, if only for the night," he said, wiping his face with his already dirtied napkin.

"Famous?"

"Yeah, you guys are really famous. No one knew anything about Arendelle until around a few months ago, and everyone's pushing to come see you and the castle." Kasper's tone was boastful, despite the ignorance in his words. _Is he seriously confessing that he's only here for the castle? I'm getting a huge Hans-like vibe from this cretin._

"So, you're not here for Elsa?" Anna asked, her mood rising.

"Oh, no, I am. She's absolutely beautiful, but I insisted we spend the night here instead of Maleville. It's a dreadful place, and I assumed Elsa missed her home."

"Isn't he such a gentleman?" Elsa jeered, holding her chin in her fingers.

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but—"

"Then don't," Anna said, an inflated smile feigned on her face.

"Prince Kasper, I think it's time for us to start heading out and begin our tour. I also think now would be a great time for you to go wash up before doing so," Elsa said, pushing herself away from the table in a signal to the workers that she was finished.

"But I—"

"Second door on the left."

Prince Kasper nodded and scooted his chair away from the table, the screeching sounds of wood against wood eliciting a cringe out of Anna. The sisters watched him with tremendous interest as he awkwardly scurried out of the room, his formerly proud aplomb melted away into an embarrassed sulk.

"Oh my God, he's like the second coming of Hans," Anna blurted once he shut the doors behind him.

"I know, I know, trust me. He's not getting anywhere near this castle after tonight," Elsa ensured, gripping the arms of her throne as she pushed herself off the seat.

"Why did you even agree to bring him over here?"

"I didn't, my attendant did." Elsa traveled around the dining table towards Anna, smiling and nodding at the two royal workers she passed on the way.

"But you're _queen._"

"And it will stay that way. I'm having a guard assist us the entire way, we're not going to stray too far, maybe to the docks at best." Elsa strapped her fingers along Anna's shoulders the moment she arrived at her, Anna shuddering upon Elsa's comforting touch.

_She's touching me. Workers are right there, looking at us, and she's touching me. _Anna nearly forgot to breathe in a seize of excitement. "At least I'll know where you are this time."

"If you do start to worry about me," Elsa continued the instant the last syllable left Anna's throat, "don't forget, I know how to fend for myself." She poised her other hand up with formidable grace, coils of bright snow dancing around her fingertips, almost white enough to emit their own light against Elsa's beaming face where a sly smile called home.

"Sometimes I forget," Anna modestly laughed, arching her shoulders up against her head.

"Well, don't stray too far tonight, all right?" Elsa said, planting an airy kiss on the top of Anna's head in the one spot that wasn't overwhelmed by layers of braids. "I'm going to send him off to bed once he gets home, and I expect to see you in the common room after."

Anna's cheeks were now glowing red, gaze disciplined on the two workers, who still didn't show any visible reaction to the sisters' now questionable interaction. "Okay," she squeaked, her voice cracking.

"And this time, I promise I'll be there."

Elsa floated off towards the doors, her head held high and a genuine grin fastened tight on her face, her pale skin seeming dark when contrasted against the whiteness of her teeth.

_I could get used to this new Elsa._

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the late update (again again again) but I've started a new fic on top of this one. I'm not abandoning this one at all, though, I'm going to update it regularly as, like I said, I have a huge story arc planned. (you totally haven't seen the last of Kasper ehehehe sorry)

My life can be summed up tremendously with "things are happening and I'm scared" which will hopefully explain by complete unreliability as a author but if there's one thing I can guarantee, it's updates – eventually.


	13. Let It Go

"Anna."

The dark nothingness that swallowed Anna's vision scattered away into flickering light as she faded in and out of consciousness, Elsa's voice coiling through her ears like silk, guiding her away from her dreams.

"...Anna?"

"Mmm, Elsa," Anna groaned, her mind still not entirely present in reality. With comforting warmth snagged on her shoulder and rattling her into awareness, Anna's gaze settled onto the figure in front of her, a blur of blue and brilliant gold. "...Wait...what?"

"I didn't expect you to fall asleep," Elsa gently said, smirking. She took a seat next to Anna on the couch, hand still gripped on her drowsy sister's shoulder. "I'm sorry I took so long."

"I'm...what? Oh." A few moments went by, Anna's thoughts gaining lucidity as she registered what was going on around her. "I guess I dozed off while I was waiting, I—I'm sorry, I've been so tired lately." The radiating heat of the fire in front of the two almost lulled Anna back into slumber, shifting her body towards Elsa and resting her head on the queen's shoulder.

"It's okay, it's okay," Elsa assured, nuzzling herself closer to her sleepy sister. "Kasper was absolutely fascinated by the castle and demanded to know everything. It was awful. I made up half of the stuff I told him, really."

Anna sighed with contentment at the satisfying feeling of Elsa's body pressed affectionately against hers. "That's really suspicious." Anna followed her observation with a yawn she didn't even bother to cover, her arms curled around Elsa's forearm, the back of her knuckles stroking the fine velvet of her dress. "I mean, that he wanted to know so much about the castle."

"It was. So after tomorrow, when he leaves, I—"

"Tomorrow?" Despite Anna's drowsiness, she spoke loud enough to clearly vocalize her objection. "Why don't you just throw him out tonight? I mean, you don't—you don't even want anything to do with this guy, right?"

"No, but they insisted he come over and stay the night."

"Who insisted? Who? The people who work _for _you? You're the queen—you have more power than I do, and I...and I..." Anna couldn't even finish her rant, another yawn kidnapping control of her body.

"Anna, they're very, very insistent that I find a king. Soon. If I said no, they might catch on that I'm trying to hide something." Elsa's voice was stern and loud, waking up Anna even further. _Why can't you just be this assertive with them?_

Anna paused for a long moment of contemplation, gripping Elsa's arms tighter as a disturbing idea arose. She turned her head up towards Elsa, their eyes making contact. "Do you think they know?"

Elsa shook her head, but her lips creased together in transparent apprehension.

"If they did, I mean, I'm sure they would have kicked us out, or made it public," Anna said, trying to convince herself more than Elsa. "I mean, we're still here, _alone, _so..."

"We're safe, I know we are. I just have to make sure to tell the guards to not allow him in the kingdom anymore. I'll tell them, I don't know, that he stole some of my jewelry."

"Well, then they'd try to probably _kill _him. Why can't you just tell them the truth, that he's creepy as all hell and you want him banished? Why are you so afraid of telling them what to do?"

"It's not that easy, I—"

"I know you're new to being queen, and to talking to people at that, but you have to put your foot down. You're the queen, I know you can do this." Anna snuggled Elsa closer, kissing the bare, warm-kissed flesh of her upper arm.

Elsa nodded weakly, inhaling with deep thought. Her face was drained with uneasiness, losing even more color as soon as she exhaled, her long-winded breath tickling the tip of Anna's nose.

"It's okay to be scared." Anna put an arm around the agitated princess, speaking softly. "I know you're still new to this, but it's okay. That's why I'm here. You just have to promise me you're going to speak up for yourself, like you used to. Be the Elsa that I know you can be."

Anna heard Elsa snort through her nose in a subtle chortle. "I can be the sassiest queen ever."

"I bet you can," Anna laughed. "So I'd like to see her. I think we all would, honestly."

Elsa nodded, sucking in enough air to rise her chest substantially. Anna responded with her own sigh, scanning the room in satisfied lethargy.

"Wait—are those...?" Anna squinted at a bowl that rest in front of Elsa, a pile of red and brown spiraling from its center.

Elsa bit her lip as a smirk flourished on her blushed face. "Maybe."

_Chocolate-dipped strawberries. _Anna's favorite.

"You little—" Anna struggled to reach over from her position, too relaxed to raise her body up from the comfort of the couch. Acknowledging Anna's straining arms, Elsa picked a strawberry from the bowl – one of the larger ones – and placed it in Anna's grabbing hands.

"Thanks," Anna mumbled, gnawing on the fruit.

"No problem," Elsa chuckled. She harvested one of her own, nibbling at its end. "I felt it was appropriate, so I stopped by the kitchen before I got here."

"I haven't had chocolate in forever, oh my God," Anna groaned, reaching for another.

Elsa moved the bowl closer to Anna, who hoarded a few into her grasp before recoiling back into the sofa. She nudged herself into Elsa's pleasant being, the melted chocolate congealed on her fingers smudging in quick streaks on the queen's dress.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry," she stammered, holding her hand up to her mouth to prevent morsels of the treat falling out.

"I don't care," Elsa shrugged. She took one of the strawberries and drew the tip of it across her lap, leaving a line of chocolate smeared on the light fabric of her garment.

"You would have thrown a fit over that months ago."

"We can make more dresses. I have several. I hate this one, anyway. It makes me look so broad-shouldered. I wore it in hopes it would deter Kasper, but I guess he has a thing for bare shoulders."

Anna examined Elsa's shoulders in the dim light of the fire. _And who wouldn't? Your shoulders alone are enough to set me off. _"I guess I do too," Anna purred, planting her lips on Elsa's neck and flicking her tongue out, scraping its surface against her skin, savoring the saltiness of Elsa's sweat.

Elsa responded with an airy breath, allocating Anna a few moments to suckle her way down her body while she tentatively placed her hand on the center of Anna's back, pressing fingertips between her vertebrae.

Anna desperately longed to continue, to finally bring Elsa to a release she fantasized to experience, but halted herself after a few baited minutes. As tempting as it would be to experience it in a room as public as the common room, it was not a risk worth taking. "I really missed you," she sighed, pressing her ear up against Elsa's chest and listening to the gentle lull of her heart.

"I missed you, too. A lot. I'm so sorry I had to put you through that."

"Next time, just make sure you send a message, all right?" Anna commanded, tracing a finger down Elsa's sides, creating ripples in the fabric.

"I promise."

* * *

Anna carefully laced her fingers around the doorknob to Elsa's room, taking a deep breath in to assist in calming herself down. _Elsa said she doesn't want to hold back anymore. It's okay to enter. You missed her. _After a few reassuring words buzzed around her head, she gently opened up her door, slowly creaking it open until she was met with the sight of Elsa sitting up in her bed, donning her sky blue nightgown that flowed beneath the covers, lantern bedside as she was absorbed in a book gripped between her fingers. Her normally braided hair lay down her body in untamed waves, stray curls curving up towards the ceiling in random sections.

"Els—"

"Oh, Jesus," Elsa shivered, her body jolting. Her widened eyes snapped to focus onto Anna, placing her book down on her lap. "You scared me."

"I'm—I'm sorry, it's just—I couldn't sleep, and I was thinking about you all night, I'm sorry if that sounds creepy, but I just..."

"Anna, it's okay," Elsa assured, a glowing smile curled on her face. "Just come here if you want." She patted the empty space next to her on the bed, where sheets were neatly tucked and folded meticulously, as though they were waiting for her to sleep under them.

"Really?" Anna asked, clasping her hands together timidly.

"Of course, you're always welcome here."

With joy pulsing through her, Anna strode over to Elsa's bed – tiptoeing, as she knew Kasper was dozed off in the guest chambers below her. She migrated her body onto Elsa's bed, sinking into its welcoming, soft mattress.

"Hi," she greeted with a strong blush surfaced on her cheeks. Elsa's presence still flustered her, despite all they've been through.

"Hi," Elsa laughed, putting her book on her nightstand.

_You look so gorgeous in that lantern light. _Anna's concentration was briefly diverted towards to how lustrous Elsa's skin seemed in the unsteady illumination the lantern extended. "I'm really glad you're home. I mean, I know I've said it a lot of times, but really, these past few days have been hell for me without you."

"I know what you mean. I've been counting down the days until I'd see you again since they informed me of my 'arrangements.'"

Daringly, Anna perched herself up over Elsa, propping herself up with a hand on the opposite side of the blonde. She leaned her head down and kissed Elsa for the first time in almost a week. Even eating strawberries couldn't compare to the flavor Elsa's lips carried for her, relaxing her muscles into the contact.

As she pulled away from her sister, her taste still tingling on her taste buds and Elsa's eyes schooled on her own, an idea surfaced in her brain, ushering in anticipation and excitement with it. "So, uh...do you..."

"...Yes?" Elsa asked, bringing her hand up to stroke the sides of her fingers against Anna's red cheeks. The sensation of her hand against her own flesh urged Anna even further to voice her suggestion, a slight shudder surging down her body.

"Are you doing anything in the morning?"

"No, you know I don't schedule anything before noon," Elsa responded, her eyes flashing with curiosity.

"Do you wanna finish what—what we started? I mean, before you left," she blurted, so nervous her arm was starting to shake, threatening to bring her tumbling down onto Elsa.

Now Elsa was blushing, reeling her chin into her neck. "You know, Kasper is sleeping right below us..."

"He won't hear us—besides, didn't you order some guards to station outside his room, so he can't get out?"

"Yes, I did," Elsa nodded, a mischievous smile stalking her face.

"I'm just saying, it's the best way I can think of to say 'hi' to you after so long," Anna mused, stroking Elsa's arm.

Elsa put a hand over her face in a rather unsuccessful attempt to hide her flushed cheeks. "I mean, if, if you want to..."

"Of course I do, I've _always _wanted to."

"I'm not entirely sure _how, _though," Elsa confessed, looking away from Anna in embarrassment. The pure innocence of Elsa coaxed even more of a desire out of Anna, who now almost painfully pined to please her sister in the way she's only dreamed of.

"Let me take care of it, just stay quiet, all right?" Anna warned.

Elsa nodded back, looking adorably innocuous yet somehow sensual beyond Anna's desires. Anna gifted the girl below her another kiss, who responded enthusiastically by returning the embrace, pulling Anna closer into her.

After what couldn't be shorter than a minute, filled with quiet breaths and the occasional, punctuated whimper, Anna impulsively escaped their kiss, taking a moment to recollect clumsily navigated down the bed, flicking the sheets up from Elsa and piling them at the foot of the bed. Elsa shifted her body up, folding her legs as soon as they were exposed to the chilled air.

Anna sat on her knees in front of Elsa's feet, which were crossed and fidgeting apprehensively.

"Do you want me to do this?" Anna asked, noticing Elsa's unrest.

"I do, I'm sorry, I'm just nervous," she squeaked. "I told you, I'm not—I'm not really sure what I'm doing here."

"Don't apologize," Anna laughed, grabbing Elsa's feet and pulling them apart with minimal force. "And that's what I'm here for."

"Oh," Elsa gasped, sitting up even further. "Sorry, I mean, ah..."

"Just relax, and let me do the work," Anna assured, slithering between Elsa's now parted legs, her own feet pressed hard against the foot board of the bed.

_ Oh Christ, I'm really going to do it. I don't even know what the hell I'm doing. _Folding Elsa's nightgown up to her lower body, Anna's breaths grew heavier, grasping the waistband of Elsa's underwear and streaming it down her ivory thighs, her alluring scent already hitting Anna's nostrils.

She looked at Elsa as she did so, too scared to allow her wandering eyes to peer at her now bare pelvic area, as though she would breach some sort of trust if she looked, but Elsa's head was lurched back into the headboard, eyes shut with a look of wanting anticipation sewn into her face. _Go for it, you've been wanting to do this for ages now. _And yet her eyes strained to take it in, take it _all _in, drifting between studying the convoluted face of the girl whose warmth fell into her own face, and hesitating to sink down a few inches and look at what she's only imagined about for some time.

Anna finally looked, where curls of white similar to the hairs on her head coiled around Elsa's area, which permeated a provoking, sweet scent that amplified Anna's already throbbing arousal that drummed through her body. Driven by her lust to see Elsa squirm in her grasp, Anna put her lips up to Elsa's swollen crease, sowing a kiss onto her sister's ridge. She had never done anything of this sort before, but as though it was an instinct entombed in her brain, she knew what to do, as in the nights she spent by herself when her own wandering fingers serviced her, she developed an understanding of the female body.

She peeked her tongue out from her lips, concealed in a shield of saliva, and badgered Elsa's perceptive nub, extracting a sharp gasp out of Elsa as her body shook. _Fuck, she tastes so good. _Like a salted sweetness that had never been discovered before, drenched with the writhing desire to press it further, to see how much she could make that little bundle of flesh swell before it seized Elsa in ripples of ecstasy.

"If I'm doing it wrong, or you want me to stop, just tell me, okay?" Anna said, halting her tease, yet as soon as the last word fell from her airy gasp, the tip of her tongue resumed its position on Elsa's delicate bulb, unable to restrain herself from harassing the body part.

"No, just—please, keep going," Elsa breathed into the direction of the ceiling, her eyes clamped tight and her lips parted for air. "Maybe—maybe just, a little over to the right," she suggested between gasps. Anna abode to her demands and moved the concentration of her tongue, eliciting a sharp yelp from the flustered queen.

"God, right there," Elsa heaved as soon as the gratifying contact was made, her body clenching together.

_Oh, God. _Elsa's demands and bellows of pleasure surged an outfit of bliss through Anna, burying her own body deeper into the bed to appease her desire for release, but with little success. She continued her licks, her tongue coating with Elsa's salted releases, mixing deliciously with the aftertaste of strawberries and chocolate. The twitches of Elsa's muscles that heaved through Anna's fingers guided Anna towards a cadence that they both found the most comfortable, her lips puckering around Elsa's cluster of nerves and suckling it like a source of nourishment.

After a while, she developed a rhythm that prompted the most feedback from Elsa, in the form of soft moans and short spasms, occasionally accented by Elsa's savory voice calling her name out in a soft whimper. Her fingers wrapped around Elsa's calves, kneading them as they quivered in her grasp, edging her sister closer to a climax, as evident by her clenching muscles and abrupt inhales. The intensity of Elsa's heartbeat boosted, hammering into Elsa's fingertips like small, quick reminders of what was to come.

"A—Anna, I think—I think I'm cl—"

"Sssh." Anna let go of Elsa's leg and strapped a finger across Elsa's mouth. How badly she longed to hear Elsa finish that sentence, but not with the castle occupied by so many people who would have heard her exclamation.

She felt the ceramic smoothness of Elsa's teeth scrape up against her flesh as she bit down into her lips to suppress a brewing moan, instead wailing directly into Anna's digit, muffling it. Her body rattled into a wave of pleasure, seizing under Anna who kept her modulation on Elsa's sweet spot as it convulsed. Her lower body bounded into Anna, coming close to bucking her out of the way as she shivered into the climax that exploded through her in a dramatic jolt.

"Fuck," Elsa cried, ignoring the fact that anyone in the castle would hear her clamors of pleasure, and although Anna was previously concerned with the two's romp being discovered by any personnel, she relished the sound of Elsa's voice echoing around the room as she came.

Anna sensed the fabric below her pull away from her as Elsa snagged the sheets below her in the fit of excitement, almost ripping it off the bed, and strengthened her grasp on her sister, hand gliding down to Elsa's shoulder and weighing down the hurdling body part.

Anna lapped up the last remaining fluids that flooded out of Elsa as she regained control of her body, growing more careful with the strokes of her tongue since Elsa's sensitivity had magnified as she rode her orgasm out. This was a taste Anna could get used to, one she hoped would grace her lips again, swirling it around in her mouth and pooling it under her tongue to savor the sensation for a while, concocting with the fragments of chocolate and fruit that stalled in her teeth. She finished her service with a few affectionate kisses on Elsa's thighs, nuzzling her nose into the soft skin on her legs, which folded down into the bed once the sister had calmed.

After a handful of moments, she traveled up Elsa's exhausted body, the queen's back sulked against the wood of the bed frame as her red-scalded face told of a girl filled with satisfied fatigue.

_What do I even say right now? _Anna fought to find something adequate enough to say to the panting queen below her. "Do you think he heard _that?_" was all that came out of her, swallowing the last of what juices remained in her throat.

"I kinda hope so," Elsa giggled. She wrapped her arms suddenly around Anna's neck and pulled the redhead down into her, Anna fumbling into her body.

"He might have a lot of questions you'll have to answer tomorrow," Anna said, rolling off Elsa and onto her side of the bed.

"I'll accuse him of being a pervert, kick him out and have him banished from Arendelle forever, then," Elsa huffed, her sentence underlined with quiet pants.

"Aren't you already going to banish him?"

"Yes, but I'd love to shame him, first."

"So sassy, I love it," Anna chuckled, burrowing into Elsa's warmth.

"Sleep, I'm not going to keep you up all night," Elsa warned. She extinguished the lantern, the room now dominated with darkness.

"What if someone comes in and sees us?" Anna wanted to hear Elsa say she didn't care anymore.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Elsa responded, but Anna could hear the hesitancy in her tone.

_ She'll get used to it._

* * *

**A/N**: (cue Kasper showing up the next morning with a "Congratulations on the sex" cake)

oops fluffy awkward smut? kinda nervous to post this but h-here you g-go, here's some frick frack. Not the only frick frack tho I hope B) sorry about the super obvious chapter title, but do you know how hard it was to stop myself from writing "let it go" at least 15 times during that scene

and the story ain't over, obviously, but sometimes I feel like I gotta say that

anyway yo so like, hopefully this will be the last time I talk about this, but I think updates are gonna be on Wednesdays – Thursdays from now on since those are my days off. Sorry, it's spring break season, so we've had a lot of guests here and I've had a lot more hours at work (which is gr8 for me, but not for my hobbies) so yeah. SORRY. But thanks for your undying patience, I know some of y'all were kinda upset it took me so long to update last time, so I wanted to clear the air. Thanks for being so awesome~


	14. Beware The Frozen Heart

**A/N**: I'm sorry I don't respond to most of my reviews, I'm wayyyy too shy to, but your reviews are what keep me going and make me giggle with happiness, so please continue to ;u; I love you guys lots!

* * *

Anna woke up to a sensation she was not used to, her fingers pressured into hot softness that moved faintly underneath. Anytime she woke up prior with the perception of skin on her fingertips, it was attended with the coarseness of arm hair, and the roughness of calloused, overworked flesh.

_Kristoff? Did you shave your arm?_

But it wasn't Kristoff, as she soon realized once the haze in her head evaporated and the body she held onto let out a feminine groan. _Wait, we broke up months ago. I don't even know where he is anymore. _The morning light that trickled in through the bedroom window illuminated radiant, pale skin in front of her, where braids of white hair streamed down a pile of pillows.

_Elsa. Elsa! _Even the voice in her head grew loud with excitement. Every detail of last night rushed to her at once, including the parts that explained the bundled up sheets and the pleasantly different taste that lingered in her throat. Battling between waking the queen up, and enjoying the sight of her still deep in slumber, Anna nestled her face into the back of Elsa's neck, breathing in her scent.

"Mmmm, _strawberries,_" she breathed onto Elsa's skin, once the fruity smell taunted her senses.

The woman lying in front of her started to shift as soon as Anna's exhale hit her bare skin, taking a few moments to work up enough strength to prop herself up on a single hand, covering her eyes with the other. "Huh?"

"Uh, hi," Anna yawned, bracing herself on her side. Sections of her ruffled hair fell in front of her face, tickling her nose. "I mean, good morning."

Elsa heaved her body with a full inhale before shuffling herself laboriously over to face Anna, biting a grin down in place of responding verbally once she gained sight of the strawberry blonde.

"What?" Anna asked with a chuckle, shrugging her neck into her torso.

"Your hair," Elsa laughed, placing a careful finger over her mouth.

"What about it?" Anna ran her hands through the frizzy mess on her head, immediately blushing with embarrassment the moment her fingers grasped strands of disheveled hair. "Oh, shut up." Anna playfully pushed Elsa's shoulder as her laughs grew uncontrollable. "How do you even get yours to look so good? Do you like, not move at all when you sleep?"

"No?" Elsa answered, suppressing her giggles. "I don't really know."

"Is that part of your magic, too? Magical hair powers?" Anna poked a finger through the hair that sat on top of Elsa's head, twirling it around in blind enjoyment. _God, it's so soft._

"I'm pretty sure you're thinking of Rapunzel."

Anna ignored Elsa's response and continued to play with her hair, appreciating how smooth it felt to the touch, like an individual cloud nestled on top of her head, Elsa's face contorting into amused curiosity as the princess twiddled with her braids.

"I'm sorry, it's just so...it feels so nice to touch," Anna said, withdrawing her hand.

"It's fine," Elsa assured with a snicker. "I actually like it when you play with my hair."

After a moment of silence, spent gazing awkwardly into each others half-lidded eyes and unsuccessfully holding back chuckles, Anna spoke. "Last night was really nice. I mean—I'm glad you're safe. And I had fun. Last night. With you." _Smooth._

"I did, too. I'm glad things are...different now." Elsa's gaze had traveled down Anna's body, which was only half covered in a thin row of sheets.

Noticing Elsa's wandering eyes tracing down her physique, Anna clenched her body tight, as though it would somehow make her figure more alluring to look at. _What the hell am I doing? _"Like, a good different?" Anna asked, begging for clarification as she grew self-conscious when arrested under Elsa's stare.

Elsa's eyes snapped back to join Anna's. "Yes, a good different. A...very good different." Elsa looked down her own body, rubbing her legs together slowly and then letting out another soft chuckle.

"Again? What is it _this _time?" Anna asked, scanning Elsa's clinched legs, canvased under a single layer of bedsheets.

"I'm—" Elsa's cheeks had flushed crimson at this point, puffed with curbed laughter. "My underwear is still...it's off, still."

Anna's attention was turned towards the article of clothing that heaped at the floorboard in front of Elsa, unmoved from earlier. "Well, we sort of just fell asleep afterward. We didn't even get a chance to talk." Anna hoped Elsa would pick up on the hint at how badly she wanted to discuss what happened in the prior night.

"I know, I was really tired after that."

"I bet." _Just say it. _"I liked it a lot. I'd love to do it again sometime," she blurted. _Oh my God, it's sex, not a formal lunch date._

Elsa shook her head, still stifling down a chuckle. "I would, too. And next time—it's my turn, all right?" she said, extending an arm out to her flustered sister and stroking her bare, rose-tinted arm, tracing around her freckles.

Anna couldn't respond, overwhelmed with joy and a level of arousal she wasn't used to experiencing so early in the morning, unable to even squeak out an utterance of approval. She had already warmed up rapidly to this new Elsa, who hadn't shown any sure signs of reverting back to her old paranoid self. _Maybe she really has changed. Don't screw this up, for God's sake._

After the tender moment passed, Elsa rolled onto her back, holding her arms over her eyes as the back of her head sunk deeper into her pillow. "I really don't want to get out of bed right now," she whined.

"Why do you have to?" Anna asked, sitting up against the headboard. Elsa's hand prints from last night still remained smudged the wood, a delightful detail that Anna picked up on immediately.

"It takes me forever to get ready. I am a queen, after all."

Anna glanced at the clock that hung above Elsa's door. "Wow, it's already almost ten," she gasped, her body perking up. "I didn't realize how, uh, late we slept in."

Elsa nodded, arms still draped over her shut eyes. "The only thing on my schedule today, at least, as far as I'm aware of, is to attend the official opening of our new docks."

"We got _new _docks?" Anna asked. Anna was not exactly in the loop when it came to events and new developments around Arendelle.

"Yes." Elsa sat up next to Anna, crossing her arms against her abdomen. "As much as I hate to admit it, during my little, well, incident, a lot of damage was done to some of the older structures around Arendelle, mainly any that was made of wood."

"It's not your fault. I mean, don't blame yourself for it—"

"I'm not," Elsa said sternly. "I just hate attending these openings. I feel as though a lot of our citizens haven't exactly forgiven me yet."

"I have," Anna muttered.

Elsa smiled to herself before placing a hand over Anna's, whose hands were dampened with stale, nervous perspiration. "Well, that certainly does mean a lot to me."

Normally, Anna would have grown embarrassed with the amount of sweat that recessed on her hands, but with the sentiment in Elsa's voice, and the evidence of sincere adoration in her eyes, Anna didn't even notice, enjoying the coldness of Elsa's skin against hers.

"I really do have to get up, though," Elsa declared, breaking contact with Anna and easing herself out of bed.

"O-oh, that's fine." Anna tried to mask the disappointment in her tone, although rather poorly.

"Anna, you know you're always welcome to join me in anything that I do. It's never been off-limits."

"No, I know—wait, really? Like, you don't mind if I—"

"I don't. I'm sorry if I was stricter about that earlier, but I really am over it. I promise."

_ You better be, because I am not going through that again. _"Okay," the princess said, her voice creaking.

"You should get dressed, first," Elsa loudly suggested, flicking through her abundant supply of dresses in her closet.

Anna hopped off the bed, struggling to do so as Elsa's mattress was unusually soft. "I know, Elsa. You're not the only royalty here, you know," she teased. After stretching her body out in a dramatic yawn, a wave of relief rolling through her, Anna strolled over to the door, halting for a moment before opening it. "I'll see you downstairs, right?"

"Of course."

"Oh, and, before I forget—what about Kasper? Do I have to worry about running into our little mini-Hans?"

Elsa laughed as she examined one of her dresses. "No, he should have been escorted out by now."

"Perfect," Anna sang, finally exiting the room.

* * *

Anna stood at the entrance of the newly constructed docks, swaying with excitement as she waved towards the bustling crowd of Arendelle citizens, all gathered around a small stage that contained her, Elsa, and the rather round man who was in charge of the refurbishment project. The sun shone brightly on Arendelle, ushering in a rare warmth in the dead of winter that made the short sleeves of Anna's dress almost bearable. Anna couldn't keep herself from hopping up and down, relishing in the attention the people of the village, who cheered and clapped at their mere presence. Although she seldom appreciated being a princess, she never got tired of the recognition she received when she was out in public.

"...And here to present our new docks, built by the very hands of Arendelle's finest workers, toiled after for weeks to insure the very best for its citizens," the large man announced, sun rays bouncing off of his bald head, "is Queen Elsa, and Princess Anna, of Arendelle."

Anna rushed over to the center of the stage, hitching her pale green dress up as she did so. Elsa ambled her way over, nodding to the crowd of civilians.

"Okay, you go first," Anna whispered over to Elsa, not sure of what to say.

"Fine," she agreed, taking the center. "I'm honored to be here today, on the opening of our new docks, no doubt opening up new doors to trade partners and travelers." Her consoling voice carried over the crowd, hushing the commotion. "And I want to personally thank the hard workers of Arendelle who made this possible."

_They're just docks. Glorified wood. _Anna grew aware of how she composed her body as Elsa spoke, a few eyes pointed squarely on her. Not wanting to just be an awkward background character, standing there with clasped hands as her sister did all of the talking, she decided to add her own thoughts on the matter. "Yeah, thanks everyone," she called out, clapping her hands. "We, uh, we really did it this time. These docks are awesome. I'm sure we'll get, like, more boats coming here. " _Yeah, that wasn't much better. _Although a couple members of the audience clapped along with her, most people stared at her with sheer perplexity.

Elsa ceased her speech to look over at Anna. "And clearly, my sister shares my enthusiasm." Elsa slyly smiled at Anna, who retaliated with an embarrassed sulk. "So, on behalf of Arendelle, I hope these newly constructed docks signify more improvements and changes to come to this wonderful kingdom."

The crowd erupted into applause, Elsa putting her arm around the remorseful princess as they roared. She lead Anna away from the center of the stage, allowing the bulbous announcer to take over, who disclosed a few more details to the distracted mob.

"I'm so sorry, this is why I don't do this stuff," Anna grumbled, hiding her face with her hand.

"It's fine, Anna. You'll get used to it. You didn't have any time to prepare, and I did."

"I mean, they're docks. What's so exciting about docks?" Anna asked, holding her palms out in a shrug. "How do you make it sound like you're excited about planks of wood?"

"I know, I know," Elsa laughed. "And I've had to open worse. The worst was when we completed our construction of a new men's clothing shop. Like, what was I supposed to say about _that?_"

"Oh, God, I can imagine. Like, I—"

"And I have an even bigger announcement to make," a hardy voice boomed from behind them, silencing the uproar.

_Hans? _"Holy crap. No. _Holy crap._" Anna twirled around, met with the image of the one other man she didn't want to see right now.

"Kasper? No, I—I thought I banished him. What's he doing here?" Elsa stammered, stumbling back.

Kasper stood at the focus of the stage, his chest puffed out proud as he gripped his hands behind his back. "I, Prince Kasper of Maleville—you've probably heard of it—would like to announce my engagement with Queen Elsa."

_What? Wait—what? _"No!" Anna reflexively snarled. "She banished you, you—you fucking—no!" Her infliction dominated over the gasps of the crowd. "Wait—is he telling the truth? Elsa, please, don't tell me that he _proposed_ to you," she begged, turning towards the exasperated queen.

"No, I swear, I have absolutely no clue what he's talking about," she assured, holding her hand up to her heart.

Anna trusted Elsa enough to know she was being honest, turning her anger towards the invading man. "You delusional...what makes you think she wants to marry you?" Anna growled, balling her fists up. _I've already punched one prince overboard, I'll do it again._

A smirk twisted on Kasper's chiseled face, one that struck fear in Anna's core. "Because," he whispered, leaning over to the younger sister's ear. "I know your little secret, and I don't think you'd want that getting out, do you?"

_No. There's absolutely no way. _"What?" she snapped, seizing her head away from Kasper's disturbingly warm breath.

Kasper's lips curled even more, taking in a large inhale through his nearly flawless teeth. "Guess there's a lot more than sisterly love going on between you two, huh?"

_Oh, fuck._

_ Oh._

_ Fuck._

* * *

**A/N**: oh shiittt

and for all of you worried about Kristoff, I haven't forgotten about him, don't worry~

it's also come to my attention that another fanfic apparently did something similar to this, WHOOPS? But I promise mine will play out differently. I had no idea, haha. Honestly.


	15. Reverse The Storm

"W—what?" Anna stammered, her heartbeat so fast it ballooned in her chest, thumping against her own nerves.

"I guess it makes sense as to why Elsa was never interested in a king. No wonder she was so standoffish towards me. But it's all right, you two can continue your little sick rendezvous as long as I can claim the throne with her," he offered, although the mischief in his eyes remained.

Anna's brow knitted into the most intense glare she could gather, inhaling strongly through her flared nostrils. "You're not getting sh—"

"Excuse me, but what exactly is going on?" the announcer asked from beside the two, his face dampened with sweat and confusion.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just give me a minute, and you'll be back to your, your docks thing, or whatever," Anna assured, keeping her gaze set on the prince with a snarl still on her lips.

"So, what's it gonna be? Do you want me to tell all the poor souls out here of the corruption you two are causing within those castle walls, or will you let me take her hand?"

Anna paused, completely at a loss of words, her lower lip quivering as she strove to come up with any plausible solution. _He's an idiot. He's a bumbling idiot, you can outsmart him. _"What evidence do you even have?" was all she was able to conjure, still scowling at the prince.

"For starters, you two seem to have no concept of volume control." _ Is he talking about last night? _Anna's heart jumped in her chest, replaying last night in her head for the first time with distraught.

"You—you have absolutely no proof of anyth—"

"Anna," Elsa's near-panicked pitch broke through the tension, the queen holding a pleading pose as she called out her sister's name. "Maybe it's time to tell them."

_What? Did—did she really just say that?_

Elsa's voice wasn't loud enough to fall onto the crowd's ears, but carried enough to usher anxiety into the princess. "What are you talking about?" Anna breathed, holding her hand up to her chest as her torso heaved down in terror, her shaking fingers barely able to keep contact on her skin.

"What's the point of living in secrecy? You said so yourself, Anna. And I'd rather let the people know the truth then to marry this—this imbecile," she said, pointing towards Kasper as she approached Anna closer.

"Wait, are you serious?" Kasper asked, his impish smirk now a disturbed gape.

"Yes, I am." Elsa nodded, an expression of solemn sedation fixed on her face.

_Holy crap, they're both crazy. _Elsa turned her body towards the audience, who still remained in a stationary horde, their collective gaze situated on the trio. As her eyes studied the audience in a quick scan, preparing herself for the supposed confession, Anna trembled with frenzy, scrambling to come up with something—_anything—_to keep both of her counterparts quiet.

_Breathe, compose repose..._

"If you all must know, Anna an—"

_Breathe, compose, rep—_"Elsa!" Anna grabbed Elsa by the arms, splintering her confession with her high-pitched interjection. "You are—you are _not _doing this," she breathed, pulling the queen towards her.

"So do you want me to marry him? Is that your plan, Anna? To see me with someone else? Because I know for a fact—"

"_No, _the plan is that _you _finally do your duty as a queen and tell this idiot to get out. No, _demand _him out. Tell your guards to throw him out. I mean, Jesus, Elsa, you're smart, you can figure this out," Anna urged in an aggressive whisper.

"And you don't think I didn't? I banished him last night, yet here he is," Elsa said quietly, looking towards the prince who was staring at the girls with keen interest.

"Guards," Anna barked towards the royal guards who were stationed at sides of the stage. "Do your job for once and throw this man in the dungeon!"

"Under what charges?" one of the guards asked, readying himself.

"_What charges? _Are you insane? Has this entire—this entire kingdom gone insane?" _What the hell is going on? _"Under the charges of 'I'm the princess, and you're going to do whatever the hell I tell you to do!'" Anna's voice stayed steady, despite the fact that she wasn't used to barking out orders, her hands trembling as she pointed at the sentry.

The guard nodded in agreement, a hint of embarrassment hidden in his gesture. The guards around the stages approached Kasper, cornering him on the structure—although he showed little resistance when faced with their forceful grasps, only stumbling back mildly under the burly mens hold.

Rather then waiting for any sort of reaction from the crowd or from the prince, Anna grabbed the astounded queen by her forearms, trailing her behind as she forced her way through the mob of civilians, occasionally faltering into them on her clumsy footing. Once they made their way through the crowd, who watched the two royal sisters disappear into the castle gates with surprised gasps, Anna rushed through the door of the castle, leaving everyone else behind at the docks in astonishment and confusion.

"What—the—_hell,_" Anna gasped, letting go of her sister as soon as they entered the main hall, "is going on?"

"I don't know, I've been wondering—"

"No, no," Anna said, halting her sister's sentence. "You too. I mean, you were really going to tell everyone?" She quickly searched around the area to assure herself that no prying eyes or ears could pick up on the two as they conversed, moving closer to Elsa as her voice fell close to a hush. "You were really going to confess? About _us?_"

"Yes, I was. I'm queen—a point you've made _very _clear to me several times. What I say, goes. And if I say that I want to be with you, they're powerless to stop me." Elsa's voice was ripe with confidence, looking at her sister with a stern gaze.

"How can you go from being paranoid of being seen with me to, to wanting the entire kingdom to know? No one can change this much in just a few days—Elsa, what did they _do _with you?"

"What did they do?" Elsa asked, raising her voice. "They showed me what hell was. They showed me what it would be like to be with someone who I didn't care about, who only wanted me for the castle, for the fortune, to be famed as the guy who married the girl with the ice powers. Anna, they showed me a life without _you._" Anna found it harder to stay mad at Elsa as she expressed the emotional sentiment, a sincere look of adoration glazing over her stare. "I don't want to hide that anymore. Seeing him up there, picturing what it'd be like to be with _him _instead of _you..._I don't want to hide how happy you make me. I can't live like this anymore, hiding the biggest part of my life from the second biggest part of my life. It's—it's almost unfathomable. I'm not even entirely sure how I was able to convince myself it was the right thing to do in the first place."

Anna's tongue prodded out of her mouth as she struggled to find anything comparable to respond with. "So, you really think that if you say it's okay—I mean, using your authority as the queen—"

"Yes, I do," Elsa assured, grabbing Anna's hand in a gesture of love. "You have to trust me on this one."

"Well, Kristoff already knows, and he's...he's...oh, oh crap."

"What?"

Anna's hands left Elsa's, instead grasping bunches of hair on top of her head as panic settled into her. "I forgot, oh God, I forgot. Oh no, oh no, oh no."

"What? Are you going to tell me, or are you going to contin—"

"Kristoff," Anna gasped.

"Oh? What—what about him?"

"He left, days ago, to look for you. I don't—I don't know exactly where he went," Anna stammered. "Oh my God, I forgot, I forgot entirely."

"What? Anna, how could you even forget about that?" Elsa asked, now mirroring Anna's hysterics.

"I—I don't know, I got distracted! By that stupid prince, and worrying about you, and—and, I just assumed he'd come back on his own, but it's been like, what, six days now?"

"_Six days?_" Elsa wailed, holding her hands close to her. "Where is he? Where—where did he go?"

"I think he went to Levsi, I mean, that's where I told him you were, so—"

Their conversation was interrupted as the main doors screamed open, an abundance of sunlight pouring into the halls, presenting a frenzied Erik on the other side. Without closing the doors behind him, Erik rushed over to the little girls as fast as his old age and withering frame would allow him, his coattails streaming in the air like black ribbons.

"What's going on here?" he asked, panting.

"Erik," Elsa yelped, holding her head up tall. "Make sure Kasper stays locked in the dungeon. Anna and I—we're going to be gone for a few days."

"What? But—_both _of you can't leave, who—who's going to be in charge of the kingdom?"

"I have faith Arendelle will be fine in my absence. If any one has any worries, I assign Kai and Gerda in charge of addressing them. They know this castle better than I do. As for now, I want you to assist in assuring Kasper is locked in our dungeons until I return." Elsa's dignified pose, composed with the strong nobility in her voice, steered a staunch feeling of adoration into Anna, who nodded along with the queen as she spoke.

"But, your majesty, you—"

"_Go!_" Elsa demanded, pointing towards the doors with a steady hand.

As Elsa's yell echoed around the room, her voice static in the ceilings of the main hall for a handful of seconds, Erik headed back outside—although this time with significantly less urgency in his step.

Anna turned towards Elsa, who was still staring at the doors with a somber gaze decked on her face. "So, about telling everyone," Anna started, still warming up to the idea.

"Don't worry about that right now, Anna," Elsa said, staying calm. "We're going to Levsi."

"Why are you so worried about Kristoff?" Anna asked. "I mean, the other day you didn't even trust him."

"As of a few days ago, he's one of my citizens, so I have every right to worry about him. Besides—I have a feeling visiting Levsi is going to answer some of my questions."

"Yeah, okay, but..."

"And I don't feel safe leaving you here alone, something tells me there's something we're not quite seeing everything that is going on."

"What? I can take care of myself, you know," Anna huffed, even though she had no intentions of staying back in Arendelle.

"Anna, you're still my little sister, I have to look out for you." _Well, you never really seemed to hold that philosophy before. _"For now, get your things ready—please. I'll meet you back here in an hour."

* * *

Anna saw something she had never seen before—Elsa's door, creaked open, the commotion and light from inside her room spilling into the hallway. It had been well over an hour since Elsa and Anna talked, and although Anna was packed and ready, Elsa remained in her room, the sound of objects ruffling around in a panic emitting from her chambers. Anna peeked through the opening of the door, faced with the image of Elsa frantically searching around her room, which had the contents of her drawers and closet strung around it.

"Elsa?" Anna asked, gently opening Elsa's door.

"Anna, I'm so sorry," she gasped, "I'm just—I've lost something, and it's, well, it's sort of important to me."

"What is it? Maybe I can help—"

"No," Elsa heaved, shooting her gaze over at her younger sister. "No, it's fine. It's here somewhere, I know it."

"Well, if you tell me what it is, I can help," Anna repeated, almost singing her words. She entered Elsa's room, who showed clear annoyance at her entry.

"Anna, it's fine."

"Is it big? Is it small? Come on, help me out here."

Elsa sighed and took a moment before speaking. "It's a book."

"A book? But you have..."

_Oh._

Anna's blood turned cold, her breath chained in her lungs. "Is it like...is it a, uh...would it be in the library?"

"No, it wouldn't be in the library, trust me on this," Elsa said, searching through her vanity drawers once again.

"Is it a novel? A reference book?" Anna took a deep breath, her senses consumed by the loud drumming of her heart. "...A diary?"

Elsa froze. She turned away from her vanity, standing herself up as she stared at Anna with utter bewilderment. "...Yes, it's—it's one of those."

_Tell her. Just tell her. _"Is it a diary?"

Elsa's gaze shot down to the wooden floors, biting her lip in hesitancy. "All right, yes, it's a diary. I—I know it's silly, but I've been writing in them for years now. It, it helped keep me sane when I was completely isolated for so long."

_She'll understand. She loves you. Just tell her. _Yet Anna said nothing.

"Please, if you can just help me look for it—"

"I took it." Anna's words were merely glorified breaths, her eyes fixed on Elsa's. _She'll be fine. It's okay._

But the look of pure betrayal that formed on Elsa's face said otherwise.

* * *

**A/N**: lol another cliffhanger and jeez something really weird is going on, huh, Arendelle has gone cray

but yeah oh lord I'm so nervous to post this chapter, it might all seem a bit weird, I know, but there's an explanation for all the weirdness if you just stay with me ;_; please don't hate me


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